EU Green Deal: Climate comes under the omnibus

Those who are said to be dead live longer, even in climate policy. The Green Deal, which EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen launched in 2019, has often been declared dead. In the 2024 European elections, the Social Democrats and the Greens attempted to resuscitate it. They voted in favor of von der Leyen's re-election - in the hope that the CDU politician would save the Green Deal.

In vain. Climate protection is no longer a priority in Brussels. The new EU Commission is subordinating everything to reducing bureaucracy and so-called competitiveness - in other words, the struggle with the USA and China for the best conditions for capital and industry. So far, the EU has come up short, and even "green" industries are moving away.

Now von der Leyen is putting the turbo on. With the so-called Omnibus regulations for the radical simplification of EU laws, a "Clean Industrial Deal" for a clean industry and an action plan for cheaper energy, she wants to make up for lost ground. The Green Deal will not be touched, they say in Brussels, but only adapted to the new situation.

Sounds good, but it's not true. The EU may not be using a chainsaw like Argentina's right-wing extremist President Javier Milei . But it is throwing the Green Deal under the (omni)bus. The proposals presented on Wednesday are just the start of a whole series of legislative changes that will lead to deregulation and the secret dismantling of the Green Deal.

The second wave is just a few weeks away. Friedrich Merz will then be Chancellor - and will ensure that the EU follows an even more industry-friendly course. The CDU leader has already ensured behind the scenes that von der Leyen softens climate policy. In the European elections, he brought "his" top candidate into line. Now the German CDU politician is implementing her election promises. If she follows Merz, the Green Deal will finally be abandoned.