EU Suspends Anti-greenwashing
Legislation as Far-right Influence Grows
Samuel Petrequin / Associated Press
PARIS (June 25, 2025) — The European Union’s leadership in the fight against climate change is under increasing pressure as far-right forces gain influence and threaten its flagship Green Deal, which legally mandates the bloc to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
Following major losses for green parties in last year’s European Parliament elections and a broader shift in voter sentiment away from environmental issues, the 27-nation bloc has been forced to recalibrate its environmental strategy.
The latest sign of faltering ambitions came earlier this month, when the EU’s executive arm suspended negotiations on a piece of legislation designed to tackle greenwashing, a technique used by companies to present a misleading image of ecological responsibility.
Ahead of Thursday’s summit of leaders in Brussels, the European Commission paused work on the so-called Green Claims Directive, which is intended to make environmental claims more reliable across the 27-nation bloc.
The directive, first proposed in March 2023, would require companies to have environmental claims verified by independent third parties and regulate the use of eco-labels across the EU. The goal was to increase consumer trust and combat misleading marketing.
PARIS (AP) — The European Union’s leadership in the fight against climate change is under increasing pressure as far-right forces gain influence and threaten its flagship Green Deal, which legally mandates the bloc to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
Following major losses for green parties in last year’s European Parliament elections and a broader shift in voter sentiment away from environmental issues, the 27-nation bloc has been forced to recalibrate its environmental strategy.
The latest sign of faltering ambitions came earlier this month, when the EU’s executive arm suspended negotiations on a piece of legislation designed to tackle greenwashing, a technique used by companies to present a misleading image of ecological responsibility.
Ahead of Thursday’s summit of leaders in Brussels, the European Commission paused work on the so-called Green Claims Directive, which is intended to make environmental claims more reliable across the 27-nation bloc.
The directive, first proposed in March 2023, would require companies to have environmental claims verified by independent third parties and regulate the use of eco-labels across the EU. The goal was to increase consumer trust and combat misleading marketing.
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