Left MEP Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein, Ireland) has sharply criticised the European Commission’s decision to withdraw the proposed Green Claims Directive, accusing it of caving to corporate pressure and abandoning vital consumer and environmental protections.
The move comes after months of negotiations in which MEPs worked to establish a legal framework to prevent greenwashing and ensure transparency in sustainability claims made by companies. The Green Claims Directive was set to be finalised this week before the Commission suddenly announced its intention to scrap the proposal entirely.
Left MEP Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein, Ireland) said: “The EPP and EPP-aligned members of the Commission have acted entirely in bad faith. The EPP twice approved the Parliament’s negotiating mandate and lengthened the negotiation process with demands for additional impact assessments. Their demands were catered to and the negotiated position would have accommodated many of their priorities. Instead of seeking a democratic consensus, they have once again breached the cordon sanitaire and created an institutional crisis. This law would have ensured consumers who want to choose more sustainable products, and pay a premium for them, are not exploited and misled by greenwashing. It would have also helped small businesses selling genuinely sustainable goods by stopping big corporations from undercutting them with greenwashing.”
The cancellation of today’s trilogue discussions marks a major setback for EU efforts to regulate misleading environmental claims and promote sustainable consumption. The Left called on the Commission to reconsider its position and prioritise the interests of citizens and the planet over corporate lobbying.
