Dear Reader,
BO DÍA. Brussels dwellers enjoyed a shorter week with Armistice Day on Tuesday. I, for one, couldn’t catch a proper break – the EU institutions were running at full speed. No rest for the wicked as they say.
After weeks of backroom talks on crucial green laws, MEPs have finally shown their hand. With the political centre sidelined, the right wing has aligned with the far-right to gut corporate responsibility obligations. The EU political tower is wobbling – and unlike the game, a collapse here would have real-world consequences for people and the planet. Lost in the political game? We got you covered:
🗳️ Tectonic shift in the European Parliament.
🛡️ The EU’s bet to contain democratic backslide.
💰 The inequality emergency and other stories you shouldn’t miss.
📽️ A special invitation to our Resource Justice Film Week.
Happy reading, and if you enjoy it, consider buying us a coffee.
☑️ VOTES ARE IN
🚨 THE NEW (HARAKIRI) MAJORITY
Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V: FAR RIGHT – We are living through generation-defining moments. For the first time in history, a major EU law has passed with a majority made up of both the right and the far right. The largest group in the House, the European People’s Party, has sided with far-right groups to pass a ‘simplification’ package that dismantles decades of democratic, social and environmental progress and abandons the pro-European centre coalition., despite the party’s leader, Manfred Weber, vowing only seven months ago that this would never happen.
WHAT CORDON SANITAIRE? The result of this vote is the passing of the first Omnibus Simplification Directive, a set of legislative amendments designed to knife the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
Two laws made to hold corporations accountable to green and social standards, ensure responsibility for human rights and environmental abuses in their supply chains, from child labour and modern slavery to oil spills and climate-heating emissions.
Why simplify rules when you can just nuke them with the far right? Mandatory climate plans for companies? Gone. Civil liability allowing victims to seek justice after corporate abuses? Scrapped. Obligations to report environmental impacts across the value chain? Now limited to a tiny fraction of companies.
KEEPING A RECORD – Our partners over at The Good Lobby have just presented the EU Far-Right Tracker, a tool that keeps a log every time the EPP lines up with far-right groups.
MORE THAN JUST A VOTE – This is about who is really governing the EU now. The EPP has left the centre behind and taken a hard right turn. With six more Omnibuses on the way, the EU could see decades of environmental and social safeguards quietly dismantled. Civil society and the political centre must mobilise – we cannot let deregulation and corporate impunity become the new normal in Europe.
🎯 2040 TRADE-OFFS
MISSING THE MARK – EU lawmakers fended off far-right efforts to scrap the 2040 target but backed a weakened deal: 85% emissions cuts plus 5% offsets. The result mirrors EU governments’ low ambition and leaves big gaps in short-term action.
YOU SNOOZE, YOU LOOSE – Parliament also agreed to postpone the new carbon market for buildings and transport (ETS2) to 2028, slowing progress in these key sectors and cutting €10 billion from the Social Climate Fund – money meant to help households with insulation, clean heating, and sustainable transport. Our reaction.
⚠️ PLAYING JENGA WITH DEMOCRACY
A CIVIL SOCIETY STRATEGY – This week, the EU Commission released its long-awaited ‘Civil Society Strategy‘. TL;DR: With civil society facing unprecedented threats, we’re not convinced it is enough to future-proof our democratic ecosystem.
FEELING THE SQUEEZE – Civil society is under immense pressure. NGOs across Europe are facing repression, including in the heart of Europe, where, since the 2024 EU elections, the far-right with a support from a handful of centrists has even fabricated a funding scandal, with the aim of calling into question the very existence of organised civil society.
LAWYERS SOUND THE ALARM – In their easy-to-read briefing, Threats to Civic Space: Why We Need to Act Now, ClientEarth set out the growing challenges faced by civil society organisations across Europe – from legal and political restrictions to intimidation, surveillance, and funding cuts. It is not for nothing that academics and NGOs are painting dystopian pictures of How NGOs Die. It’s important to remember What Happens When They Do.
WELCOME RECOGNITION – In the Strategy, the Commission recognises that a strong, independent civil society is at the heart of healthy and functional European democracy, including not only organisations providing services, but also those engaged in political advocacy and watchdog work.
SOME GOOD IDEAS – It also includes proposals for a new Civil Society Platform and sets out 10 guiding principles for dialogue with civil society organisations – concrete proposals which could create space and a framework for civic dialogue for years to come.
NOT ALL THAT GLITTERS IS GOLD – The Commission announces that “civil society’s involvement in the development, implementation, monitoring and enforcement” of EU policies is a “specific funding objective of the EU”. However, while the LIFE programme – the EU’s only dedicated fund for environmental and climate action supporting NGOs – is mentioned, the text makes no commitment to protect this vital funding (money that keeps the lights on).
A REMINDER – Under the next Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF), the Commission has proposed cutting LIFE and merging fragments of it into broader competitiveness and facility funds. As we highlighted in our recent EU Observer op-ed, NGOs are already being so starved of funds that they’re having to lay people off – or even shut down. For environmental and climate NGOs, LIFE is not just a programme – it’s our lifeline.
TRUST ISSUES – On top of that, a “Scrutiny Working Group” on NGO funding, established by the EU Parliament in the wake of the funding non-scandal, will commence its work this week. The very fact the Working Group is being set up feeds the anti-NGO narrative that serves the far right and certain corporate interests. A concern which has been echoed by the EESC.
As pointed out by ClientEarth, it will be necessary that the Commission commits to a strong, pro-CSO narrative recognising civil society as a cornerstone of democracy, not an obstacle to policymaking.
DEAD LETTER – The Commission’s communication remains non-binding and without concrete commitments, it risks being little more than a well-intentioned statement rather than a strategy capable of safeguarding Europe’s civic space. As with the natural world, restoring a damaged ecosystem is far harder than protecting a healthy one. Europe’s ecosystem still breathes, but it is under immense pressure. Now is the time to act.
🗞️ IN OTHER NEWS
THE “OTHER” EMERGENCY – Since 2000, the world’s richest 1% have captured 41% of all new wealth, while the rest of the population got just 1%. Over the next decade, an estimated $70 trillion will be passed down through inheritance, cementing privilege for generations and deepening a system that erodes democracy, stability, and the planet itself, as revealed in the G20’s first-ever Global Inequality Report.
TIPPING OR TURNING POINT – As the world crosses its first major climate tipping point, one sector still lags dangerously behind: EU agriculture and food. However, new analysis shows several viable paths to slash agricultural emissions, in some cases by up to 59%. Read more here.
INTERNATIONAL MILESTONE FOR HEALTH – At the Minamata Convention’s COP-6 in Geneva, governments agreed to involve Interpol and the World Customs Organisation in investigating the illegal production and trade of mercury-added skin-lightening products. This is a milestone in international cooperation.
⚔️ FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT
BREAKING THE 4th WALL – At COP30 in Brazil, Indigenous protesters confronted leaders head-on, demanding a voice in decisions that shape their lands and the planet’s future. Their message was clear: climate action that ignores rights and participation risks repeating the same extractive patterns it claims to fix.
These struggles take centre stage at Resource Justice Film Week (17–28 Nov), where five documentaries reveal what happens when Europe’s “green transition” meets the realities of extraction. Join us-screenings are free.
🧠✨ DOPAMINE HIT
As ever, here are a few happy updates to get your weekend off to a perky start:
- Green by tradition: Africa’s path to lower carbon footprint. Read more here
- Australia has so much solar that it is offering everyone free electricity. Read more here
- Thirty previously unknown deep-sea species have been confirmed from one of the most remote parts of the planet. Read more here
☕ BUY US A COFFEE
From dirty lobbies to smear campaigns, billionaire bullies to climate collapse, we face a lot. Support our work, one coffee at a time.
📢 ORGANISE
If you are not involved, get involved. Find a member organisation near you.
🚀 FOLLOW US
Don’t stay delulu, deal with the pollulu 🍃✨ Stay connected with us on LinkedIn, Bluesky, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Don’t miss out!
Are you a journalist? Subscribe here to stay up to date on our latest European environmental policy updates made specifically for you!
We have opened a new mailbox for your tips and tales from the ground. Got something you think we should feature? Reach out to us at newleaf@eeb.org.
✨ SIGN UP
Stay informed. Subscribe to our Newsletter by email for the latest EU green insider updates every Friday morning and to support our work. By subscribing, you also get early access to our in-depth analysis of key EU environmental policy.
By: Roi Gomez. Special thanks to the EEB’s editorial team: Ben Snelson, Ruby Silk and Christian Skrivervik Editor: Alberto Vela.