The obligations for European transport companies in the original proposal are now to be relaxed.
 

Parliament and the Council had actually already largely agreed on the Commission's legislative proposal as part of the European Green Deal to curb microplastic pollution. In its report, Euractiv calls the Commission's proposal at a meeting of EU ambassadors on 5 February to now weaken the obligations to monitor the transport of microplastics an ‘unusual step’. The Commission wants to use this to further advance efforts to reduce bureaucracy in Brussels (see also the report on the Commission's work programme). According to Euractiv, however, this ‘U-turn’ has provoked strong reactions within the Council. There, there are fears that the EU's environmental ambitions will be watered down. In 2023, the Commission proposed new rules to reduce the spread of microplastics by 30 per cent by 2030, and even showed openness to additional reporting requirements. According to Euractiv, the Commission's latest U-turn indicates that the agenda of reducing red tape has gained traction with the new Commission following the European elections and could now also affect areas that were previously considered untouchable.
 
Sources:

• Euractiv (17.2.2025)
• Photo: © Christian Lue / Unsplash