From the outset, the so called “Green Claims Directive” presented by the former EU Commission in 2023 was extremely controversial. It was intended to oblige companies to only communicate environmental claims based on verifiable evidence.

For companies, especially smaller ones, this EU directive would create legal risks that would probably spell the end of any meaningful environmental communication.

The legislative process is well advanced. In Brussels, the Commission, EU Council, and Parliament are in the final “trilogue” stage of negotiations to finalize the law. Now there has been an initiative on the right side of Parliament, which has been joined by the conservative EPP group, to reject the entire directive.

The Commission now felt compelled to withdraw the proposal for the directive in order to avoid a defeat in Parliament. However, this step is already highly controversial within the EU Commission and, of course, on the left side of Parliament. The Green Claims Directive is being used as a political power struggle, which ultimately also concerns the political interpretation of the entire Green Deal and its instruments. For companies (including business aviation), this is good news for now, because another bureaucratic monster is up for grabs.

To be continued…