BRUSSELS — The European Commission will scrap its proposed law to fight corporate greenwashing following a request from conservative lawmakers to kill the file on Wednesday.
“In the current context, indeed the Commission intends to withdraw the Green claims proposal,” Maciej Berestecki, a spokesperson for the Commission told press on Friday.
The Green Claims Directive was proposed in March 2023 and aims to stop companies from misleading consumers with unfounded claims that their products and services are good for the planet.
The decision — announced just one working day before the final round of negotiations with EU countries and MEPs to reach a deal was due to take place — means the EU will not be asking companies to provide verified information to back up the green claims they make.
“The European Commission has the right of initiative to make but also withdraw [a] proposal after its own assessment of the legislative process,” Stefan de Keersmaecker, another spokesperson for the Commission.
On Wednesday, POLITICO reported that the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) had sent a letter to the environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall, asking the EU executive to withdraw its proposal, threatening not to support any deal coming out of the negotiations.
On Tuesday, POLITICO also reported that the Commission was considering withdrawing another green law asking countries to monitor the health and degradation of forests.
It is very unusual for the Commission to withdraw a legislative proposal and only happens if the co-legislators are not able to find a consensus, or if the Commission believes that compromise doesn’t respect the original idea of the law.
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