Dear Reader,
Welcome back to your regular reminder that clean water, healthy ecosystems and basic accountability did not suddenly become unreasonable demands.
Though if you were an extra-terrestrial who had just landed on Earth, you might be forgiven for thinking otherwise.
While deregulation enthusiasts remain hard at work, so do the lawyers, campaigners, researchers, communities and citizens pushing back. And there are a lot more of us.
This week, we’re looking at how some of Europe’s biggest corporate lobby groups – and their allies in politics – are trying to convince us that protections are the problem. Protections for nature. Protections for health. Protections that businesses themselves often rely on for certainty and stability.
The good news is that not everyone is buying it.
So grab a coffee, settle in, and let’s get into it. Enjoy the read (and if you do, perhaps consider buying us one too 😉)
💁 PROTECTIONS ARE COOL
Regulation panic, episode 437. Right on cue, Europe’s largest business lobby has called for a moratorium on new regulatory burdens in the name of “competitiveness”. The script is nothing new. Fewer obligations, less oversight, more flexibility – and somehow everything will magically get better.
Corporate lingo bingo. As avid readers will know, big corporations, business lobbies and some of their political allies have spent the past year polishing buzzwords like “simplification”, “competitiveness” and, of course, “omnibus”. What often gets lost in translation is that many of the protections under attack keep toxic chemicals out of drinking water and products, protect forests and wildlife, require transparency from large corporations, and help ensure that pollution costs are not simply dumped on the public.
The missing calculation. Every regulation has a cost. So does polluted water. So do toxic chemicals, floods, crop failures and collapsing ecosystems. A blanket moratorium on new rules risks becoming a moratorium on solving Europe’s biggest crises.
The simplification paradox. There’s also one awkward detail they never draw attention to: businesses need rules. While lobby groups call for deregulation, many businesses, investors and financial experts continue to stress the importance of regulatory certainty. Companies plan investments, hire staff and build long-term strategies around stable frameworks. Constantly reopening agreed legislation rarely creates certainty.
Make it make sense. Some of today’s competitiveness debates feel like watching a runner complain that their lungs are making it harder to sprint. The protections and common rules being portrayed as obstacles are often the very things that keep Europe’s economy functioning. Remove them, and the problem is not competitiveness. It’s what comes next.
🌬️ A CHANGING WIND?
Not everyone is buying the deregulation agenda. Across Europe, governments, courts, public authorities and parliaments have been pushing back against the idea that Europe’s environmental and social protections are somehow the problem. This week, those signals got a little louder.
From Denmark with hope. Fresh off securing a third term, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s new government is doubling down on an agenda that links social fairness, public health and environmental protection. While some are pushing Brussels to weaken rules, Copenhagen seems focused on how to make existing protections work better.
Plans for fairer farming. Denmark is also setting its sights on reforming the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, with a stronger focus on public health, nature, climate and animal welfare. In a political climate dominated by calls for simplification, that’s a notable signal.
Pollution is a health issue. Perhaps most strikingly, Denmark is putting nitrate pollution in drinking water high on the political agenda, explicitly framing it as a public health challenge.
⚔️ FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT
🦋 Environmental defenders unite. This week, the EEB has been in Strasbourg for the First European Forum on Environmental Human Rights Defenders. We are proud to be among the organisations that helped bring the Forum to life, together with the Council of Europe, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Over two days in the EU Parliament, environmental defenders, civil society organisations and decision-makers came together to share experiences, challenge assumptions and chart a way forward. We depend on nature. Nature depends on environmental defenders. Environmental defenders depend on protection.
🤝 Residents force pause on mining expansion. In Portugal, a court has agreed to hear a case brought by local residents challenging a lithium mine, leading to a pause in operations while concerns over water pollution, nature destruction and public participation are examined. The decision comes as leaked documents continue to raise questions about how some EU “strategic” mining projects were selected.
🛡️ Albania is not for sale. Protests continue over plans backed by the Trump-Kushner family to develop a private resort on one of Albania’s protected islands. Critics argue the project prioritises private profit over public access, environmental protection and long-term coastal resilience. We stand with those defending nature and the public interest against yet another attempt to turn protected landscapes into playgrounds for the ultra-wealthy.
📡 ON OUR RADAR
Greenwash watch. How corporate interests co-opted the word “regenerative” when talking about food and farming, and a better term to use. Check the full investigation and our joint statement.
People love nature. The EU’s latest Eurobarometer (a kind of ‘supersurvey’) on wildlife just dropped – the results are unanimous (look below): #HandsOffNature. Not joined the petition yet? Sign now and maybe be the half-a-millionth person!
🧠✨ DOPAMINE HIT
As ever, here are a few happy updates to get your weekend off to a perky start:
- Clean energy saved the EU €51 billion in 2025 by cutting fossil fuel imports – as solar leads the way. Read more here.
- Ethiopia goes electric following gas car ban. Read more here.
- A flamboyance of flamingos flocks to Venice Lagoon thanks to an EU wetlands restoration project. Read more here.
- Brussels will require all phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027 – and use USB-C chargers. Read more here.
🧚 THE JOB FAIRY
- Wetlands International Europe is looking for a Technical Officer for Peatlands.
- REScoop.eu is looking for a Senior Communications Officer
- European Climate Foundation is looking for a Chief Executive Officer
- European Transport Workers Federation is looking for a Comms Manager
☕ 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.
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By: Ben Snelson. Special thanks to the EEB’s editorial team: Alberto Vela and Roi Gomez. Editor: Christian Skrivervik