Brussels Sets Legislative Agenda for 2027, Officially Withdrawing Green Claims Directive
According to the EU Commission's annual Work Programme, the EU plans to strengthen its single market, cut red tape, modernize industry and bolster its defense capabilities in the new year. In service to these goals, the EU plans to scale back its legislative agenda for 2027 - including killing off proposals that have faced repeated delays, such as the Green Claims Directive.
First proposed in 2023, the Green Claims Directive was meant to be a major component of the EU's Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive. It would have forced companies that made sustainability claims about their products to provide evidence of those claims or face fines and penalties. But the proposal was shelved in 2025 after disagreements within the EU regarding excessive reporting obligations. The EU ultimately decided that the Directive was unlikely to receive the necessary support from the EU member states that it would need to pass within a "reasonable timeframe".
Other notable pieces of legislation that the EU plans to de-prioritize in 2027 include the 2021 Energy Taxation Directive, originally designed to change EU tax rules to ensure electricity is taxed at a lower rate than fossil fuels. The EU intends to introduce new energy legislation in 2027 to help meet its 2040 climate goals. The EU also plans to withdraw its proposed legislation on Financial Data Access, or FIDA, which would have given third parties access to financial data held by insurers, asset managers, pension funds and others.
Looking ahead
With transformative legislation such as EU Deforestation Regulation and the EU Forced Labor Regulation entering into forced in late 2026 and 2027, the EU Commission appears to be focusing only on the proposals most likely to move forward as Ursula von der Leyen’s second term approaches its end. The indefinite wait over certain proposals that have been in limbo for years has officially concluded.
