A coalition of seven NGOs has lodged a complaint with the European Ombudsman, contesting moves by the European Commission to water down key sustainability regulations.
The EU proposed a raft of reforms to incoming sustainability rules earlier this year, as policymakers aimed to prioritise the trading blocâs economic competitiveness and cut red tape. The changes, which still need to be approved by the European Parliament and Council, would slash environmental reporting requirements for thousands of business and substantially reduce supply-chain oversight.
The coalition of nonprofits, which includes fashion-focused Clean Clothes Campaign, as well as Anti-Slavery International, Friends of the Earth Europe and Global Witness, said the move was âundemocratic, untransparent and rushed.â
â[The] proposal was made without any public consultation, sidelining civil society, with a lack of evidence or environmental and social impact assessments, and with a primary focus on narrow industry interests,â the organisations said in a statement.
The European Ombudsman is an independent body, created to hold the EUâs institutions and agencies to account. It cannot force the Commission to reverse its decisions, but if it were to take up the case and find in favour of the NGOs, it would put pressure on the institution to reconsider.
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