🎢 WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?

Keeping up with the Kardash…EU policy this week has felt like something out of Mission Impossible – explosions to the left, lasers to the right, and ahead a sliding door I’m somehow supposed to dive under before it seals shut. 

I barely clocked the neo-Nazification of Elon’s Grok, had no time to laugh at the staged photos from Macron’s UK visit, and have fully surrendered to ignoring Trump’s latest tariff tantrums. Honestly, the four coffees I sink before finishing this newsletter probably aren’t helping with the sensory overload either… 

So, if like me you feel like you’ve been taken hostage on the world’s fastest political roller coaster this week, take a deep breath, put the kettle on, and maybe swap the espresso for a calming herbal tea. 

We’ll try to make sense of the storm shaking up the EU institutions, bring you the latest on some of the hottest environment policy files, and even provide a good-news sandwich to help you ease into the weekend. 

Hold on – here we go! 

💚 STILL HERE!

HOPE – When civil society and independent media are under growing pressure, good news can feel like the exception, not the rule. So here’s your reminder: there are many people behind the scenes working hard to make a positive difference. And the EEB is among them. We’re still here!

SHOWING UP – This week alone, we’ve had a seat at the table in Aalborg, where the Danish EU Presidency hosted its first informal Environment Council with ministers from across Europe. We reminded them that no one is immune to chemical pollution (more on that below). And we also had a seat at the table with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen herself, alongside our Green 10 partners – reminding her, as the mother of the Green Deal, that the climate, nature, and pollution crises aren’t slowing down. And neither are we. 

SHOWING OUT – It’s not about visibility for its own sake, but in Transparency International EU‘s new report on lobbying in the EU, it turns out we feature prominently. The EEB had more meetings with MEPs than any other stakeholder in Europe. On chemicals. Agriculture. Pollution. Nature. Energy. Climate. Air quality. Justice. You name it. 

In today’s political climate, all this visibility can feel like a risk. Some would rather we didn’t show up at all. 

But with more than 190 member organisations and 30 million citizens behind us, we’re not backing down. Our small expert teams work daily across a wide range of files to defend laws that protect public health and the environment. And yes – we log our meetings. Because transparency matters. 

Even if, ironically, many of those attacking NGOs in the name of “transparency”… seem to have very little of it themselves.

💶 THE EU COMMISSION’S LEAKED BUDGET 

WHAT’S LEFT OF LIFE? The EEB has seen a leaked draft of the EU Commission’s proposal for the next EU budget – the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) – and we are concerned. Due to be announced next week, the leak suggests that the LIFE Programme, the EU’s only dedicated fund for nature, climate, and environment, would be repealed. Some elements would be folded into a new “European Competitiveness Fund”, stripping LIFE of its clarity, purpose and legal force – a quiet but deliberate rollback, just when the climate, nature and pollution crises demand the opposite. 

RETURN OF INVESTMENT – For over 30 years, LIFE has helped implement EU law, supported cross-border solutions, and funded thousands of high-impact projects – from small NGOs to local authorities and businesses. It is delivering proven returns for citizens and the planet. Now, it risks being dismantled through budget lines, despite the EU Parliament’s clear call to strengthen, not scrap, LIFE. 

CLEAR PLAYBOOK – This follows months of attacks on civil society, including LIFE-funded NGOs – attacks we warned were designed to pave the way for something bigger. And here it is. Repealing LIFE would undermine the EU’s environmental ambitions, weaken legal obligations, and leave citizens unprotected. This is not simplification. It’s sabotage. Expect a deeper dive next week when the Commission publishes its final draft proposal (expected July 16). 

🚨 TOXIC CHEMICALS ARE EVERYWHERE 

STILL, ALL TALK NO ACTION – This week, the Commission unveiled Europe’s plan to help chemical companies in Europe become less toxic. In it, the Commission makes all the right noises: acknowledging the need for a clean and circular economy and better protection of health and the environment. But beyond the rhetoric, its action plan falls short of these ambitions. 

THE UPSIDEDOWN – While we welcome stronger enforcement on imports, support for safer alternatives, and PFAS-related commitments, the plan actually just props up a toxic, fossil-based production model with public money and few strings attached. It lacks clear targets and timelines and gives in to fast-tracked permits (with risks for nature and health) and fake solutions. A bold REACH reform and a 2050 roadmap with enforceable milestones are needed to ensure industry profits don’t come at the cost of public health and planetary boundaries. 

NO ONE IS IMMUNE – At this week’s informal Environment Council in Aalborg, 32 of Europe’s Environment and Climate Ministers, including Commissioner Jessika Roswall, were invited to have their blood tested for PFAS, the toxic ‘forever chemicals’ now found in nearly all Europeans. The initiative, led by the Danish Ministry of Environment and Gender Equality with support from the EEB and ChemSec, spotlighted the urgent public health crisis PFAS pose, linked to cancer, infertility, and immune disorders, and costing Europe over €180 billion a year in damage.  

BAN PFAS NOW – As one of the first moves of Denmark’s EU Council Presidency, it highlights growing concern over the widespread contamination affecting people and nature across Europe. Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden have jointly proposed a near-total PFAS ban under the EU’s REACH regulation. The EEB supports the EU Commission’s intention to move quickly toward this ban and will be watching with the rest of civil society to ensure people and the planet are protected. 

🚆 2040 CLIMATE TARGET – A RUNAWAY TRAIN?  

DON’T PANIC, BUT… As if we needed any more proof that the far-right in Parliament is working to undo all the work that went into Green Deal, here it is: the far-right Patriots for Europe – which includes France’s RN, Spain’s Vox, and Hungary’s Fidesz – has seized control of the EU Parliament’s report on the 2040 climate target. The group’s leader, Jordan Bardella, has vowed to kill the Green Deal, and now they’ll lead (read: sabotage) the amendment process.  

IT GETS WORSE – Harm reduction efforts by left and centre-leaning MEPs failed after the EPP once again sided with the far-right (despite the fact that the group recently took shots at one of the EPP’s very own). With COP30 on the horizon, the EU’s climate credibility is now hanging by a thread. 

🏞️ BUYING BACK NATURE 

NATURE FOR SALE – This week, the EU Commission launched a ‘Roadmap towards Nature Credits‘, a plan to create a system where companies and investors can pay for actions that help nature – like restoring wetlands, planting forests, or protecting wildlife – and in return, get “credits” that prove they’ve helped biodiversity.  

At the launch, Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall highlighted a critical point: nature restoration still suffers from a massive funding gap, estimated at 700 billion euros annually. However, the focus on private financing gave rise to concerns among environmental organisations.  

WHAT’S THE CATCH? While private finance can play a supporting role, strong and stable public investment remains essential to restore all ecosystems, not just the most accessible or profitable projects. Nature credits must not replace public funding, and are no excuse for governments to curtail their responsibility to restore and protect nature. Referring back to the next EU budget mentioned above, it must allocate dedicated, accessible financial resources for biodiversity to foster genuine ecological resilience. Which the current draft does not indicate…  

Reminder: our societies and economies depend on nature. Last year, over 100 major businesses came forward with the same message: protect and restore Europe’s nature.  

🏛️ INSIDE THE EU PARLIAMENT: TWO MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

AGRI Committee sides with big agri over smaller farmers: This week, MEPs on the Agriculture Committee backed a report that keeps billions in untargeted CAP subsidies flowing to the largest landowners and agribusinesses – at the expense of smaller-scale farmers, sustainable practices, and nature. Despite calls for fairer redistribution and support for farming in harmony with nature, the model that led to the shutdown of 5.3 million small farms in 15 years remains untouched. Public money, no strings attached, while pollution and inequality grow.

Vehicle Regulation vote weakens circularity: A joint committee vote on the proposed Vehicle Regulation watered down key circular economy measures. Instead of backing reuse, durability and repair, MEPs weakened the Commission’s proposal and ignored the sector’s rising environmental footprint. The Polluter Pays Principle was sidelined, and loopholes were left wide open. A missed chance to drive real change – and protect citizens, not just cars.

📢 #SPEAKUPFORPALESTINE

As EU Foreign Ministers meet on 15 July, the message is clear: End complicity. Suspend the EU–Israel Cooperation Agreement.

Amnesty International and others closely monitoring the situation have established that Israel’s regime is committing crimes against humanity and genocide in Gaza. Civilians are being bombed, starved, and denied aid – while Europe watches. Under Article 2, the agreement requires respect for human rights. That condition is broken. Yet the EU still hasn’t acted.

As Israel’s largest trading partner, the EU has the tools – and the duty – to respond. Diplomacy without consequences is complicity.

🧠 DOPAMINE HIT  

Your weekly dose of hope: 

– The Seine is swimmable again, after 100 years. Pack your maillot-de-bain and get on the next train.

– The BBC released a new documentary, ‘Could Degrowth Save the World’, and goes as far as suggesting that yes, actually, it can! 

– The EU is in a position to meet its 2030 air quality goals. Here’s the proof.

– We’re not cooked yet! If all that hasn’t worked, check out this clip from Insta’s Garbage Queen.

– The sun is having a moment, with last year seeing energy produced by solar power off the scale. 

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By: Ruby Silk. Special thanks to the EEB’s editorial team: Alberto Vela, Ben Snelson and Roi Gomez. Editor: Christian Skrivervik