Bureaucracy and climate: U-turn of the EU Commission for more economic growth
Less bureaucracy and cheaper energy: The EU Commission has presented measures for more economic growth. Laws that have just been passed are being significantly scaled back
The European economy is to get going again by making a drastic cut to its own laws: The EU Commission has presented a package of measures aimed at reducing reporting obligations for companies, supporting climate-friendly technologies and lowering energy prices. In the short term, 100 billion euros are to be invested in clean industry. Business associations support the measures, but environmental organizations fear that the "Green Deal" will be reversed.
"We want to loosen the shackles that still hold you back," said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) on Wednesday when presenting the package. "So that Europe can be not only a continent of industrial innovation, but also a continent of industrial production."
This was preceded by a report by the former head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, in which he diagnosed the continent as having only weak productivity. The Commission then set itself the task of reducing administrative costs by at least 25 percent by the end of the legislative period. This "omnibus procedure" was therefore eagerly awaited by politicians and companies alike. The latter in particular hoped for stimulus that would support the ailing economy.
EU Commission presents "Clean Industrial Deal"The first block of the package of measures is the "Clean Industrial Deal", which focuses on energy-intensive industries and climate-friendly technologies. Specifically, the Commission wants to work towards ensuring that 40 percent of these technologies, such as wind turbines, are manufactured in the EU. To this end, the guidelines for awarding contracts are to be revised, among other things, so that price is no longer the only decisive criterion - this should help European companies. In addition, the circular economy is to be strengthened with more recycling and an export restriction for the waste of critical raw materials.
In order to reduce energy prices, the Commission is planning an action plan for affordable energy. Among other things, it wants to achieve faster approvals for renewable energies. To ensure that prices fluctuate less in the future, there will be longer-term contracts. In addition, the authority wants to talk to "trustworthy LNG suppliers". According to the Commission, companies will save 130 billion euros annually with the measures by 2030.
Supply Chain Act is postponed and weakenedThe EU Commission is also hoping for billions in savings by "simplifying" reporting requirements. This affects, among other things, laws that were only recently passed in the EU, including the Supply Chain Act (CSDDD). Under this directive, companies should be held responsible if they profit from human rights violations in production. The implementation deadlines are now to be postponed by a year to 2028, and companies are only to be liable for their direct business partners. In addition, minimum penalties and liability risks are to be reduced. The law was only passed in the summer of 2024 and was conceptually based on the German Supply Chain Act.
90 percent of importers drop outThe reporting requirements on sustainability (CSRD) are also being scaled back. Soon, only companies with more than 1,000 employees and a turnover of 50 million euros will be subject to the directive - according to the Commission, this only affects 20 percent of the companies originally included in the price. The CO2 tariffs on imports (CBAM), which are primarily intended to protect the steel industry, will also be changed so that around 90 percent of importers will no longer be subject to tariffs. The Commission estimates that this would still mean that tariffs would be levied on 99 percent of emissions.
"We are taking concrete steps to reduce red tape and make EU rules more accessible and effective for citizens and businesses," said EU Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné. "Today's package is the first step in our far-reaching simplification efforts in all areas of legislation."
Angelika Niebler, chairwoman of the CSU European group in the European Parliament, also welcomes Ursula von der Leyen's initiatives. "Europe needs the courage to cut costs. All requirements that only create bureaucracy and no added value must be removed," said Niebler. "We will carefully examine whether the Commission's proposals are sufficient or whether further changes are necessary to achieve visible changes for our companies." And German industry also agrees: "It is good that the EU Commission wants to temporarily suspend the implementation of the Sustainability Reporting Directive and the EU Supply Chain Act so that no new burdens arise," explained the Federation of German Industries BDI.
Criticism: Goals of the “Green Deal” in danger?Michael Bloss, industrial policy spokesman for the Green Party, is significantly less enthusiastic. "The proposals for reducing bureaucracy raise expectations that cannot be kept," writes Bloss in a statement. "Because what is really causing problems for local companies are the cumbersome analogue offices. The belief that these proposals will achieve anything is an illusion and only fuels further frustration in Europe."
Non-governmental organizations are particularly critical of the dismantling of the Supply Chain Act: "The fact that the EU Commission now wants to water it down to the point of insignificance in an unprecedented rush is scandalous," writes the environmental association BUND.
Others fear that the climate goals of the Green Deal are in danger. "The proposal presented today by the EU Commission goes far beyond the actually sensible goal of standardizing rules and creating coherence," writes Silvie Kreibiehl, chairwoman of the organization "Germanwatch". "Instead, the Commission, also driven by the German election campaign and industry lobby groups, especially from Germany and not least from the USA, seems to want to partially reverse the important lighthouse guidelines of the Green Deal."
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