Displaying items by tag: EU

EU: The European Commission intends to withdraw a proposal aimed at combating so-called ‘greenwashing’, by ensuring companies’ environmental claims are accurate, substantiated and independently verified, according to MSN News. The proposal was initially presented in March 2023, as part of the broader European Green Deal legislative framework and was expected to go ahead in a matter of days, after reported ‘successful talks.’

Poland’s EU Council presidency said it is “ready to enter constructively into the trilogue and go ahead as planned until there is a clear decision from the Commission.”

A Parliament negotiator said “It is unacceptable that the Commission blatantly interferes with the progress made by co-legislators on this file.”

The Commission has not confirmed whether its College of Commissioners has formally decided to withdraw the proposal. Beyond the immediate legislative impact, the move raises broader questions about the Commission's authority to retract its own proposals. A 2015 Court of Justice ruling allows proposal withdrawals under strict conditions, such as in the case of institutional deadlock or the proposal becoming obsolete. Neither case appears to apply to the Green Claims Directive.

Greece: Holcim has broken ground at the Olympus project at its Milaki plant, which will produce 2Mt/yr of ‘near-zero-CO₂’ cement from 2029. The producer will invest €400m in the development, and it has secured €125m from the EU Innovation Fund. The plant will combine OxyCalciner and Cryocap FG technologies for carbon capture. Holcim said the project would create over 1000 jobs for the local area.

Holcim CEO Miljan Gutovic said “The Olympus project in Greece is one of our seven large-scale, EU-supported carbon capture, utilisation and storage projects that are setting the Clean Industrial Deal in motion. Together, these will enable Holcim to offer over 8Mt/yr of near-zero cement across Europe by 2030.”