“The debate on Pfizergate, we protected her from it, if this continues like this, we will stop protecting her,” a senior Renew official said. The Socialists and liberals could “stop playing the game and making deals in other files with EPP,” effectively blocking the EU’s legislative process, they added.
“The problem now is that the Commission is also answering to the alternative right-wing majority, not the centrist platform,” the official said.
A spokesperson for the EPP said it welcomed the Commission’s announcement, claiming that the current text under negotiation would have “led to a bureaucratic nightmare for companies.”
As well as being angry at the cancelation of the proposed law itself, both centrist parties accuse the EPP and the Commission president of bypassing the EU’s legislative process. The anti-greenwashing bill was already being negotiated between Parliament and EU Council ― representing national governments ― after both institutions already approved their positions after months of work.
A Socialist official added the situation has brought them to question “the whole basis of support for von der Leyen, and if she really goes through with this, that would be seen as breaching the platform, there is no platform left.”
“The Commission should be aware of the importance of the alliance and the commitments.” S&D group chair Iratxe Garcia said.
The greenwashing law in the form the negotiations were taking would “go against the Commission’s simplification agenda,” said Commission spokesperson Stefan De Keersmaecker. “Our objective has been to find an agreement on a legislative proposal that would reduce administrative burden and complexity for companies, and in particular smaller companies.”
He added: “Obviously, the Commission remains fully committed to fighting greenwashing and ensuring that consumers are correctly informed and will continue to work on this objective.”