Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. PARLIAMENT ADOPTS ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF BUILDINGS DIRECTIVE As the final, final, really final Council negotiations on the due diligence rules are taking place today, one would forget that many other agreements that were said to be at risk are actually endorsed without much of a fuss, at least in the Parliament. Along with the Nature Restoration Law a few weeks ago, the Parliament's plenary this week endorsed the final agreement on another key piece of environmental legislation, the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The new legislation sets rules for renovation targets of buildings, both on the public and private side. It also introduces a phase-out of fossil fuel heater subsidies as soon as next year, ending another major dependence on…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. COMMISSION PROUD OF ACHIEVEMENTS AS PRESIDENT VON DER LEYEN UP FOR RE-ELECTION One day before the formal confirmation of Ursula von der Leyen as the EPP’s lead candidate for Commission President, the European Commission on Wednesday published “The story of the von der Leyen Commission”, a 56-page document showing how the Commission ensured “Keeping our promise to Europe”. The timing of the paper raises eyebrows, even if a similar document was published together with the incumbent President’s last state of the Union speech last autumn. In fact, the Code of Conduct of Commissioners prevents standing Commissioners to use any human or material resources for electoral campaigns, but here’s the catch: unlike some other Commissioners, von der Leyen is not running for…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. MEPS CHOOSE NATURE BY APPROVING AGREEMENTS ON NATURE RESTORATION, ECOCIDE After months of negotiations and twitter wars between the European institutions, the inter-institutional agreement on the Nature Restoration Law was finally approved by the European Parliament. It is the second time that this file survives a rejection vote, following a much tighter vote last summer in Parliament’s plenary to enter into negotiations. Back then, the report was among the first to hint at what we might see in the coming months: a more right-leaning European Parliament after the elections. The negotiated deal successfully sets targets to restore at least 20% of the EU’s degraded land and sea by 2030, and 60% of habitats in poor condition by 2040. On the same…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. FINANCE MINISTERS PRESENT THEIR ABC FOR CAPITAL MARKETS IN EUROPE In the coming days, Finance Ministers will be putting their ideas on the table for a refresh of the Commission's Capital Markets Union project. Meeting in Ghent for informal Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings, it will be hard for ministers to avoid the draft shopping lists that will be finalised later this semester by Enrico Letta to reboot the internal market, and by Mario Draghi on competitiveness. On top of that, bankers are in town for their regular Eurofi school trip, using bilateral meetings with politicians to indirectly influence the EU's financial regulatory agenda for the next mandate. Ministers are expected to promote an "ABC" for capital markets: revise the financial supervision…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. INSTITUTIONS STRUGGLE TO FINALISE AGREEMENTS, AS OPPORTUNISM GROWS As the countdown to the Parliament elections goes on, EU institutions face an institutional crisis on their main method of decision-making in trilogues: provisional deals agreed in trilogue are increasingly blocked last-minute by national governments, driven by their own national electoral concerns and populism. In December, a last-minute opposition led by France blocked the adoption of the Platform Workers Directive, on which a provisional agreement was already agreed between the Parliament and the Spanish Presidency. Now, it is the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive which is at great risk, after Germany, Italy and several countries indicated to the Belgian Presidency that they would either abstain on or oppose the provisional agreement reached by…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. COMMISSION PLAN FOR 90% CARBON REDUCTION RELIES HEAVILY ON NET ZERO TECH The Commission’s 2040 climate target announced this week in Strasbourg, unlike the 2030 and 2050 goals, will not be enshrined in legislation. It heavily relies on two optimistic assumptions: full and effective implementation of the existing legislation, and speedy and successful roll out of “net zero” carbon technology, including carbon capture and storage. As expected, the Commission recommends 90% net greenhouse gas emissions reduction compared to 1990. Yet, it does not propose new policy measures, and it does not set any new sector-specific targets either, arguing that an extension of the current policies would already lead to an 88% reduction. As Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra put it: “Tacking…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. COMMISSION TO FOCUS ON CURRENT LEGISLATION TO MEET CLIMATE TARGET The Brussels bubble is eagerly awaiting the Commission’s official communication on the 2040 climate target due next Tuesday in Strasbourg – a leaked copy suggests that the headline figure will indeed be 90% of net greenhouse gas emissions reduction compared to 1990, building on the current 55% target for 2030. A 90% target would be in line with advice from the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change and the Commission’s own impact assessment. However, to meet the ambitious target, the Commission seems to simply rely on full implementation of existing legislation, along with an increased level of ambition in the adjusted National Energy and Climate Plans which will need to…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. MEPS ACCEPT COMMISSION PROPOSAL TO DELAY SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING Sustainability reporting was high on the agenda of the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs this week, as it voted on the delay of sector-specific reporting standards and also discussed the 2024 Work Programme of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), who are currently providing technical advice to the Commission on the standards. MEPs agreed to accept the Commission proposal to delay by two years the adoption of sector-specific sustainability reporting standards, which is now envisaged for 2026. This vote is consistent with the Commission’s highly political push to reduce specific reporting obligations for EU companies in attempt to fight administrative burden. While MEPs accept the delay, they do suggest that the…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. EUROPE BIDS GOODBYE TO OFFSETTING CLAIMS BY EMPOWERING CONSUMERS With an overwhelming majority, the Parliament this week adopted the agreement on the Empowering Consumers Directive (ECD) aimed at combatting greenwashing (for EU nerds, it amends the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and the Consumers Rights Directive). The deal includes a ban on claims based on carbon offsetting and provisions to ensure that sustainability labels are based on a verified certification scheme. What does this mean in practice? As of 2026, when the rules are expected to apply, companies will no longer be allowed to claim that their products and/or services are “climate neutral” or “climate positive”. Companies can also no longer require consumers to replace parts or update software before it is…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. MUSICAL CHAIRS FOR EUROPE’S TOP JOBS ACCELERATE DUE TO LIBERAL RESHUFFLE Winds of change are blowing over Europe’s highest political offices. European Council President Charles Michel announced last Sunday that he would soon leave his position to run as a candidate for the European Parliament elections in June. He is expected to head the list of the French-speaking Reformist Movement in Belgium, part of the Renew group in the Parliament, creating controversy around his ability to combine his campaign and his remaining responsibilities in the Council. Michel’s move also accelerates a Belgian game of musical chairs, as having him head a gender-alternated list projected at two seats means current Belgian Commissioner Didier Reynders could only land the third spot to become…