The European Commission’s energy chief has urged member states to consider voluntary demand curtailment for fossil fuels, as energy ministers mull measures to safeguard EU energy supplies ⬇️

LEAK: The Cypriot presidency has distributed a draft compromise on a broadening of the EU’s carbon border tax to downstream products, which largely adheres to the European Commission’s original text ⬇️

ECHA has put forward two long-awaited opinions on a group restriction on PFAS ‘forever chemicals’, with both of its scientific committees tentatively supporting a broad ban on the environmentally persistent substances ⬇️

The EU’s lower court has struck down a European Commission decision to deny public access to details on several controversial pesticide reapprovals, in what campaigners hail as a “major step” towards greater accountability in EU decision-making ⬇️

The European Commission president has pledged €30 billion in financial support for industry decarbonisation projects, funded through the EU emissions trading system, alongside an immediate review of the Market Stability Reserve under the cap and trade scheme ⬇️

The EU Council has called for effective implementation of current legislation setting out sustainability criteria for biomass, but has stopped short of calling for any additional measures ⬇️

The European Commission has outlined plans to tweak the EU’s water protection rules, with restrictions on discharging mining waste in water bodies identified among potential “problems” hindering critical raw materials extraction ⬇️

A coalition of national capitals has warned that suspending or weakening the EU emissions trading system would be a “very worrying” regression ⬇️

LEAK: Environment ministers are set to discuss the revision of several key EU green laws at a meeting next week as part of efforts to meet the bloc’s 2040 climate target ⬇️

Surging oil and gas prices caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran should only serve to speed up Europe’s transition away from fossil fuels, commissioners Dan Jørgensen and Teresa Ribera have said ⬇️

Fossil industry representatives have claimed in a fresh report that oil and gas supplies risk being severely constrained if the EU implements the 2024 Methane Regulation as planned, in what climate campaigners describe as “alarmist” scenarios ⬇️

LEAK: The EU executive is planning to support a swift uptake of small nuclear reactors through the EU’s InvestEU programme, according to a draft of the upcoming Clean Energy Investment strategy ⬇️

The Finnish government has put forward a long list of recent EU climate and environmental legislation it sees as ripe for revision under the bloc’s ongoing “simplification” efforts, including several key Green Deal laws ⬇️

The EU executive has put forward a proposal to grant overriding public interest status to any industrial project set up in dedicated acceleration areas, in an effort aimed at providing “simplified permitting” for heavy industry ⬇️

LEAK: The European Commission is expected to table a more targeted proposal for an Industrial Accelerator Act, according to a fresh draft, limiting priority status designation under the legislation to a handful of sectors including carmaking and steel ⬇️

The European Commission president has committed to move forward with a swift implementation of the recently signed trade agreement with the South American Mercosur bloc, without waiting for Parliament to give its formal consent to the deal ⬇️

Several national capitals have pushed back against efforts spearheaded by Poland to swiftly reduce the cost of CO2 emission permits under the EU’s cap and trade scheme, cautioning against undermining the cornerstone climate framework ⬇️

Dozens of EU green compliance deadlines, policy meets and member state elections are approaching. Are you ready? Stay compliant and stay ahead with part four of our special report – a calendar of 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣+ key EU green policy dates coming up: 📆 www.endseurope.com/article/1945... 📆

The European Commission has given into pressure from national capitals to ditch a proposed restriction on lead bullets, saying that its “potential impact, however small,” on weapons manufacturers trumps their damage to human health and the environment ⬇️

The European Commission has pledged to properly record and explain any future legislative decisions taken urgently, in response to “maladministration” findings from the EU Ombudsman ⬇️

✂️ Simplification 🌍 Climate target 🧪 REACH revision 🗑️ Circular Economy Act 🚜 CAP reform 🦅 Nature funding reset 📊 Corporate reporting What happens next with the green battles of this EU mandate? Read the experts' predictions in part three of our new report 🔮 🇪🇺 www.endseurope.com/article/1945... 🇪🇺

The recently weakened Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive should be revised if the EU is to fully account for the growing impact of climate change, the bloc’s climate watchdog has said ⬇️

The EU executive is holding a closed-door consultation with select stakeholders this week on the revision of the EU’s longstanding nature directives, in a process criticised by environmental groups as serving industry interests ⬇️

The European Commission is preparing a parallel process to review the full EU statute book, alongside further topic-specific ‘omnibus’ simplification packages, with an action plan on detailed proposals promised “soon” ⬇️

A decision to allow automated submissions of due diligence statements meant to simplify how businesses comply with the EU’s anti-deforestation law caused a massive increase in system load estimates and ultimate postponement ⬇️

Simplification is affecting dozens of EU green talks – right now. Which will progress and which will stall? 🇪🇺 Read part two of our special report to get a front-row seat to 4️⃣0️⃣+ negotiations on climate, chemicals, CAP and more: ➡️ www.endseurope.com/article/1945... ⬅️

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has defended the “clear benefits” delivered by the EU’s emissions trading system, amid industry claims that the cost of polluting in the bloc is pushing production abroad ⬇️

The European Commission is drawing up plans to prevent member states from enacting national laws that go beyond EU rules, while “doubling down” on efforts to cut cumbersome permitting procedures ⬇️

How are Parliament’s #EuropeanGreenDeal champions adapting to a reality of right-wing alliances? Read our interviews with S&D, Renew Europe and Green MEPs to find out how coalitions are being rebuilt, playbooks rewritten ♟️ 🇪🇺 www.endseurope.com/article/1945... 🇪🇺 📷 Laurie Dieffembacq/EP

LEAK: The EU executive is preparing formal guidance for member states to cut taxes on electricity to minimum levels permitted under EU rules, in an effort to boost investments in electrification and transition away from fossil fuels ⬇️

🇪🇺 Is @jessikaroswall.ec.europa.eu ‘proud’ of the omnibus? 🇪🇺 What are her priorities for the rest of this mandate? 🇪🇺 Will laws be reopened on nature, water, and more? For a new special report, we interviewed the commissioner – and this is what she had to say: ➡️ www.endseurope.com/article/1945... ⬅️

WEBINAR: ENDS Europe editor Jamie Carpenter hosts a discussion-based webinar with senior EU decision-makers and environmental policy experts to examine the implications of the European Commission’s environmental omnibus package. 🕑 Wednesday 4 March | 2pm CET Register for free below ⬇️

The European Commission has launched infringement proceedings against a large number of member states who remain in the controversial post-cold war investment treaty, in a tentatively final effort to complete the bloc’s torturous withdrawal ⬇️

The European Commission has prepared a draft proposal to designate three lithium salts as human reproductive toxicants that key trade partners have warned would hold back the green transition ⬇️

Soy beans now meet the EU’s criteria to be excluded from its renewable energy targets after a surge in their production in high-carbon areas such as forests, peatland and wetlands, the European Commission has indicated ⬇️

MEPs have endorsed a request to seek an EU court opinion on the recently signed trade deal with the Mercosur bloc ahead of any formal vote, in a move criticised by the European Commission as “unjustified” ⬇️

LEAK: Member states will be required to draw up “aggregated baseline” permits to streamline impact assessments for manufacturing operations in dedicated industrial clusters, according to a draft of the upcoming Industrial Accelerator Act ⬇️

The EU’s environment chief has indicated that the European Commission may not follow through on plans to swiftly revise REACH this year, amid ongoing discussions on next steps for the EU’s flagship chemicals regulation ⬇️

The EU’s highest court has ruled that member states have discretion on whether or not they require individuals requesting public access to environmental information to provide their legal names and addresses ⬇️

The European Chemicals Agency and European Food Safety Authority are set to begin work on assessing the environmental fate of ‘forever chemical’ TFA, following a request from the European Commission ⬇️

Renew Europe’s president has told the European Commission that provisionally applying the EU-Mercosur trade agreement ahead of MEPs’ approval risks backfiring ⬇️

ANALYSIS: Courts across Europe will be busy with numerous environmental cases this year, with climate litigation coming to a head and diversifying, lawsuits over bottom trawling proliferating and continuing scrutiny over compliance with water, waste and nature laws ⬇️

The EU executive has backtracked on earlier assurances that the European Parliament’s consent would be required prior to signing the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, announcing today that it would be sealed next week after national capitals unilaterally endorsed the provisional application of the deal ⬇️

Cumbersome and “complex” requirements for impact assessments and public consultations could be scrapped as part of the European Commission’s upcoming revision of its internal lawmaking rules ⬇️

LEAK: Tentatively final draft rules for calculating recycled content in PET bottles, distributed to national capitals in late December, provisionally exclude plastic recyclate from abroad from counting towards EU targets ⬇️ www.endseurope.com/article/1944...

The Commission president is aiming to placate national capitals resisting the EU’s trade deal with the Mercosur bloc by offering front-loaded income support payments for farmers ⬇️

The EU executive has tabled a proposal to place the EU’s carbon border tax on imported products with high metal content such as washing machines ⬇️

Generous emission credit schemes and tweaks to CO2 reduction standards will allow car makers to reduce their emission cuts, the European Commission has confirmed ⬇️

LEAK: The EU executive is sketching out a “stepwise” implementation of PFAS restrictions in food containers under the EU’s packaging and packaging waste rules, with guidance suggesting only partial enforcement of legal limits ⬇️

The European Commission has proposed changes to EU nature rules through a new regulation to ensure that the “occasional killing” of protected species does not hold back strategically important projects ⬇️