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Europe Opens Public Consultation on Cutting Environmental Red Tape for Business
The European Commission said the goal was not to lower net-zero objectives ‘but to attain them more effectively without causing avoidable costs to businesses.’
The European Commission on Tuesday opened a call for evidence for views on how to cut environmental red tape, in a bid to support businesses and boost the European Union’s global competitiveness.
EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall, who is leading the initiative, said on Wednesday that the bloc’s objective is to gather insights on how to simplify environmental law surrounding industrial emissions, waste management, and the circular economy “without compromising our high environmental standards.”
“Reducing the administrative burden of environmental laws will help make them more effective and ensure better environmental protection in the long run,” she said.
The consultation document said, “The goal is not to lower the EU’s environmental objectives or the protection of human health granted by EU environmental laws, but to attain them more effectively without causing avoidable costs to businesses ... public administrations and the public.”
Citizens and stakeholders of the 27-nation alliance are asked to respond using the Have Your Say portal, with the feedback period open until Sept. 10.
This initiative, the commission said, is aligned with the EU’s other key objectives, such as meeting the target of cutting administrative burden for all companies by 25 percent and by 35 percent for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Simplification
The move forms part of the EU’s “Simplification Omnibus,” which aims to enable the bloc to compete with major global economies such as the United States and China.
The plans were announced in February to meet the demands of industry, which has long complained about bureaucracy, high energy prices, and excessive taxation.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Feb. 25 that “EU companies will benefit from streamlined rules.”
“This will make life easier for our businesses while ensuring we stay firmly on course toward our decarbonization goals. And more simplification is on the way,” she said.
Under the omnibus proposals, the rules on how businesses report the environmental and social impact under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive will be relaxed, with any company with fewer than 1,000 employees being exempt.
Supply chain due diligence rules under the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive will be delayed until 2028 and would require companies to make environmental and human rights checks on their direct suppliers rather than along the entire supply chain.
On May 21, the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, announced that it would create a new category of business that would be exempt from some regulations on net-zero goals and data protection.
Under the proposals, companies with fewer than 750 employees and up to 150 million euros ($176 million) in turnover will be classified as “small mid-caps.”
Some 38,000 companies could be classed as small mid-caps under the new rules planned for 2026.
Supply Chain Audit Law
Some in the EU do not believe that the commission’s aims to reduce red tape go far enough, with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz having called for the directive to be scrapped altogether.
Macron told business executives who had gathered for an investment summit in Versailles on May 19 that the supply chain audit law “and a few other regulations should not simply be postponed a year but discarded.”
Last year, Macron said the EU could lose its competitive edge and fall behind other countries, such as the United States and China, if it did not address high social spending, increase investment, and reform its regulations.
On Oct. 2, 2024, the French president said, “Our former model is over.”
“We are overregulating and underinvesting. In the two to three years to come, if we follow our classical agenda, we will be out of the market,” he said.
Guy Birchall and Owen Evans contributed to this report.
Victoria Friedman is a UK-based journalist covering a wide range of international stories, with a particular interest in technology, eastern Europe, and defense.
