The European Commission made a sudden decision to withdraw the proposed Green Claims Directive last week, halting one of the bloc’s most significant efforts to regulate greenwashing, just days before the law was expected to be finalized. “In the current context, indeed the Commission intends to withdraw the Green claims proposal,” Maciej Berestecki, a spokesperson for the Commission, told the press on Friday. The move, which was announced on June 20, leaves a critical gap in EU sustainability regulation and raises questions about the future of the Green Deal’s consumer protection agenda.
The Background in Brief: Introduced in March 2023, the Green Claims Directive was designed to crack down on misleading environmental marketing by requiring companies to substantiate and verify any environmental claims they make. The proposal would have required that such claims be based on scientific evidence; independently verified; updated regularly to reflect current data; and specific and free of vague, generic language.
The goal was to standardize green claims across the EU, increase consumer trust, and support companies making legitimate sustainability efforts. Crucially, the directive sought to replace a patchwork of national rules with a consistent, EU-wide standard.
A Proposed Greenwashing Law
After more than a year of legislative work, the directive had cleared major hurdles in both the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. Final negotiations had already begun, and a third and likely final meeting was scheduled for Monday, June 23. But just hours before the meeting, the Polish Council presidency abruptly cancelled it. Italy, once a key supporter, had withdrawn backing over the weekend, and the Commission followed by announcing its intention to pull the proposal entirely.
The Commission cited concerns about red tape for small businesses, warning that the proposed greenwashing law could affect up to 30 million micro-enterprises. A spokesperson said the law conflicted with the EU’s “simplification agenda” and risked placing excessive administrative burdens on the smallest firms. But MEPs involved in the negotiations say they had already built in exemptions and flexibility for SMEs. “We were ready to compromise,” said one negotiator. “The concern about small businesses had been acknowledged and addressed.”
The Commission can withdraw its own proposals, but only under certain legal conditions. A 2015 EU Court of Justice ruling confirmed this right but stressed that it must be justified – for instance, due to institutional deadlock or the proposal becoming obsolete. “Neither condition appears to apply in the case of the Green Claims Directive,” according to reports coming out of Europe, prompting concerns that the Commission could be overstepping its role and upsetting the institutional balance by exercising a de facto veto over the legislative process.
Meanwhile, without the Green Claims Directive, companies will continue to navigate a fragmented landscape of national rules and voluntary standards, creating uncertainty for businesses and weakening consumer protection against greenwashing.
A Setback for Sustainable Consumer Policy
The directive was widely supported by environmental groups and consumer advocates, who viewed it as essential to preventing deceptive marketing and encouraging credible sustainability efforts. Its collapse comes amid a broader trend of delays and rollbacks across several Green Deal files. While it remains unclear whether the Commission will revisit the directive in a future mandate, the current withdrawal marks a significant retreat from earlier ambitions – and leaves the EU without a clear framework for verifying green claims in the marketplace.
What was expected to be a cornerstone of the EU’s sustainable consumption agenda has now become a cautionary tale about legislative fragility at the intersection of policy, politics, and regulatory complexity.
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