With the legs against the Brussels omnibus

Brussels' European Quarter can prepare for the arrival of a new group of protesters. Not angry farmers this time, but instead concerned citizens, trade unions, MEPs, and NGO representatives. They began their march from Maastricht on Sunday. They will arrive in the Belgian capital on Tuesday.

There, they will voice their dissatisfaction with an omnibus proposal from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. An omnibus is a blanket law intended to better align regulations. Von der Leyen claims it's about simplifying laws. The activists call it deregulation.

The law that worries them most is the anti-look-a-way law that obliges European companies to identify and address abuses in their value chains. This CSDDD, as the law is known in jargon, is part of the omnibus proposal von der Leyen presented in March.

That proposal already contained some watering down of the hard-won law. The European Parliament and the Council, the decision-making body of the EU member states, have since begun working on it and are on course for further dismantling. This threatens to put the required climate efforts on the back burner, and companies may soon only have to audit their direct suppliers.

Most striking: if the EU countries have their way, the CSDDD obligations should only apply to companies with 5,000 employees or more and €1.5 billion in annual turnover, instead of 1,000 employees and €450 million in turnover. The law would then directly affect only about 1,000 companies, less than a third of the current number.

"The rollback of sustainability legislation has been prompted by a handful of powerful corporations," says Eline Achterberg of Oxfam Novib, one of the participants in the protest march dubbed Back to the Future . "This is how they repeatedly get away with exploitation such as child labor and gross environmental damage. That is unacceptable."

Maastricht was chosen as the starting point for the walk because it is the "birthplace of the EU," thanks to the treaty signed there in the early 1990s. This treaty expanded Europe's political mandate to include social rights and environmental protection.

2. Dear Viktor…

At least it is transparent.

While government leaders usually sort out their disagreements behind closed doors, the prime ministers of Sweden and Hungary last week chose to take the social media platform X public.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán kicked things off by writing that Sweden should stop educating him on the rule of law, as the rule of law in the Scandinavian country is under pressure from "criminal networks exploiting Swedish children as murderers." Migration is said to be to blame. Orbán cited an article in Die Welt.

His Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, didn't leave it at that, calling it "blatant lies" from a man who was reportedly desperate with new elections approaching. Those elections will take place in April 2026, and Orbán isn't faring well in the polls.

Then things got even more personal. Kristersson wrote a long message , especially by X-standards, with the opening line 'Dear Viktor…'. In it, he discusses the historical ties between Sweden and Hungary, pointing out that his country supported the Hungarian people in their resistance against the Soviet Union in 1956.

"That's why we question your visit to the leader of the same country that cracked down on your fellow countrymen's struggle for freedom, and that today is targeting your neighbor, Ukraine."

Orbán didn't let the matter rest. In a vitriolic tweet, he stated that while Sweden may be a friend of Hungary, the same cannot be said for the Swedish government. He offered seven points that would demonstrate this; one of them refers to Swedish pressure to apply Article 7 of the EU Treaty to Hungary, a (blunt) procedure that could lead to the country losing its voting rights in Brussels.

"Every country has its problems," Orbán said. "But unlike you, we don't interfere in the sovereignty and internal affairs of others, nor do we lecture other countries. We are, however, concerned about you and the Swedish people."

3. Liquefied natural gas, liquid principles?

On Friday, the European Commission presented the 19th sanctions package against Russia, as punishment for the war in Ukraine. The most striking element is the plan to completely halt imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by January 1, 2027, a year earlier than originally planned. "The Russian war economy runs on fossil fuel revenues," said Commission President von der Leyen. "We want to cut off that flow of money."

However, this sanctions package can only take effect if all member states agree, including the ever-recalcitrant Hungary. Orbán likes to use his veto to block measures he doesn't like, especially those that lead to lower imports of cheap Russian energy.

Meanwhile, the EU has frozen around €20 billion in funds for Hungary, citing concerns about the rule of law, asylum rights, and LGBTI rights, among other things. This is open to negotiation. For example, there's a legal loophole that allows Hungary to transfer blocked funds to other EU programs, where they can be absorbed. In May, Budapest asked the Commission for €605 million in this way.

According to sources at the Financial Times, Brussels is now poised to release €550 million , which would be linked to the approval of the new sanctions package. The D66 European parliamentary group reacted with dismay: "The European Commission and the member states are once again being blackmailed by Orbán. At our insistence, Parliament had obtained assurances from the Commission that money could not simply be diverted, but that promise now appears to be going straight down the drain."

On September 9, Roxana Mînzatu, Vice-President of the European Commission, emphasized in the European Parliament that the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights remain an absolute prerequisite for disbursing EU funds to Member States, even when funds are shifted. "We will apply these rules strictly, and I maintain that."

Would you like to receive this Europe newsletter by email every week? Subscribe here. And here are previous issues .

What should we pay attention to this week?

On Monday , European agriculture ministers will meet in Brussels for initial reflection on the future of the politically sensitive austerity measures in Brussels subsidies for farmers. The European Commission proposed this in the EU's new multiannual budget.

European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra will speak at a UN climate summit in New York on Tuesday , where, contrary to what was intended, the EU will not be able to propose a new climate target. It will remain a "declaration of intent" with a range of targets .

• Also on Tuesday , the political groups' nominations for the 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought will be presented in the European Parliament. The vote on the three finalists and the announcement of the winner will not take place until October.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will deliver a speech on Wednesday at the Protecting Children in the Digital Age event in New York. In her recent "State of the Union" address, von der Leyen said she was watching with interest developments in Australia, which is working on a ban on social media for children.

• Also on Wednesday , the European Parliament's International Trade Committee will hold an initial discussion with European Commission representatives on proposed changes to EU customs legislation. The proposals stem from the August US-EU trade agreement.

Read (and listen) more?

Diplomatic retreat Weeks after the Czech Republic expelled Belarusian diplomats for espionage, a Czech diplomat in Belarus was also told to pack his bags .

Fake news: Russia has launched a fact-checking website . The name, Global Fact-Checking Network, is very reminiscent of the reputable International Fact-Checking Network. "Behind the facade lurks a Kremlin-backed disinformation tool."

Flights with Ryanair will soon be reduced in Vienna. The budget airline considers taxes and airport charges too high and is therefore canceling three routes. The Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air recently announced that it will no longer operate in the Austrian capital starting in March. The reason: excessive costs.

French President Emmanuel Macron is going to provide a US court with "scientific proof" that his husband , Brigitte, is a biological woman . All because an American podcaster claims he isn't.

A bright future. The Sila Atlantik project aims to transport renewable energy via a submarine cable from Morocco to Germany, accounting for 5% of Germany's electricity consumption. A good plan , because that 4,800-kilometer power cable isn't built yet. But it could easily happen.

Europamania is written by FD Brussels writers Daan Ballegeer and Mathijs Schiffers , plus Han Dirk Hekking . Do you have any comments or news? Let us know at [email protected] .