BRUSSELS — The European Commission has proposed rolling back several EU environmental laws including industrial emissions reporting requirements, confirming previous reporting by POLITICO. It’s the latest in a series of proposed deregulation plans — known as omnibus bills — as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tries to make good on a promise to EU leaders to dramatically reduce administrative burden for companies.   The bill’s aim is to make it easier for businesses to comply with EU laws on waste management, emissions, and resource use, with the Commission stressing the benefits to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which make up 99 percent of all EU businesses. The Commission insisted the rollbacks would not have a negative impact on the environment. “We all agree that we need to protect our environmental standards, but we also at the same time need to do it more efficiently,” said Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall during a press conference on Wednesday.  “This is a complex exercise,” said Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera during a press conference on Wednesday. “It is not easy for anyone to try to identify how we can respond to this demand to simplify while responding to this other demand to keep these [environmental] standards high.”  Like previous omnibus packages, the environmental omnibus was released without an impact assessment. The Commission found that “without considering other alternative options, an impact assessment is not deemed necessary.” This comes right after the Ombudswoman found the Commission at fault for “maladministration” for the first omnibus.   The Commission claims “the proposed amendments will not affect environmental standards” — a claim that’s already under attack from environmental groups.   MORE REPORTING CUTS  The Commission wants to exempt livestock and aquaculture operators from reporting on water, energy and materials use under the industrial emissions reporting legislation.  EU countries, competent authorities and operators would also be given more time to comply with some of the new or revised provisions in the updated Industrial Emissions Directive while being given further “clarity on when these provisions apply.”  The Commission is also proposing “significant simplification” for environmental management systems (EMS) — which lay out goals and performance measures related to environmental impacts of an industrial site — under the industrial and livestock rearing emissions directive.  These would be completed by industrial plants at the level of a company and not at the level of every installation, as it currently stands.   There would also be fewer compliance obligations under EU waste laws.   The Commission wants to remove the Substances of Concern in Products (SCIP) database, for example, claiming that it “has not been effective in informing recyclers about the presence of hazardous substances in products and has imposed substantial administrative costs.”  Producers selling goods in another EU country will also not have to appoint an authorized representative in both countries to comply with extended producer responsibility (EPR). The Commission calls it a “stepping stone to more profound simplification,” also reducing reporting requirements to just once per year.  The Commission will not be changing the Nature Restoration Regulation — which has been a key question in discussions between EU commissioners — but it will intensify its support to EU countries and regional authorities in preparing their draft National Restoration Plans.  The Commission will stress-test the Birds and Habitats Directives in 2026 “taking into account climate change, food security, and other developments and present a series of guidelines to facilitate implementation,” it said.  CRITIQUES ROLL IN   Some industry groups, like the Computer & Communications Industry Association, have welcomed the changes, calling it a “a common-sense fix.” German center-right MEP Pieter Liese also welcomed the omnibus package, saying, “[W]e need to streamline environmental laws precisely because we want to preserve them. Bureaucracy and paperwork are not environmental protection.” But environmental groups opposed the rollbacks.  “The Von der Leyen Commission is dismantling decades of hard-won nature protections, putting air, water, and public health at risk in the name of competitiveness,” WWF said in a statement. The estimated savings “come with no impact assessment and focus only on reduced compliance costs, ignoring the far larger price of pollution, ecosystem decline, and climate-related disasters,” it added.   The Industrial Emissions Directive, which entered into force last year and is already being transposed by member countries, was “already much weaker than what the European Commission had originally proposed” during the last revision, pointed out ClientEarth lawyer Selin Esen.  “The Birds and Habitats Directives are the backbone of nature protection in Europe,” said BirdLife Europe’s Sofie Ruysschaert. “Undermining them now would not only wipe out decades of hard-won progress but also push the EU toward a future where ecosystems and the communities that rely on them are left dangerously exposed.” 

Turkey has claimed half of the Aegean Sea falls under its area of marine influence, escalating a territorial spat with Greece over where to put ocean conservation zones. The move comes after Greece said it would create marine parks in waters Turkey considers its own. On Monday, Turkey submitted to UNESCO a so-called maritime spatial plan, an official document which sets the marine areas where activities including fishing, tourism and renewable energy projects can take place. It also underpins the creation of marine protection zones. Even though the spatial plan does not define the country’s exclusive economic zone, the map prepared by Ankara University reflects several of Turkey’s long-standing territorial claims, many of which conflict with those of neighboring Greece. Greek officials complained the map effectively splits the Aegean Sea in half, claiming the maritime zones of numerous Greek islands into Turkey’s proposed maritime jurisdiction. “Ankara’s map is not based on any provision of international law and produces no legal effect,” Deputy Foreign Minister Tasos Chatzivasileiou told Greek radio on Tuesday. “It reflects the long-standing Turkish positions but has no legal force. Greece will move [to respond] at all levels.” The move comes a week after the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that legal procedures for the creation of Greece’s first two marine parks, a contentious issue with neighboring Turkey, will begin this month. Speaking at the United Nations ocean summit in Nice, Mitsotakis said the two marine parks will be established in the Ionian Sea and in the Southern Cyclades region of the Aegean Sea as a first step. The move comes a week after the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that legal procedures for the creation of Greece’s first two marine parks. | Dumitru Doru/EPA Greece faced a fierce reaction from Turkey last year when it initially announced plans to set aside some of the waters between the two countries for ecological sustainability. Ankara is contesting the sovereignty of some of the maritime territory involved. The exact location of the maps has not been made available yet, but, according to Greek officials, the Southern Cyclades park will not involve contested areas. Turkish concerns are more likely to focus on the Dodecanese islands and nearby islets, which were part of earlier proposals but are left out of the Greek government’s current planning. Turkey asserts that the Greek islands are not entitled to full maritime zones beyond 6 nautical miles. Greece upholds the position that this is against international maritime law. In the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey’s map extends to the boundaries outlined in a Turkish-Libyan maritime memorandum signed in 2020, an agreement that Athens rejects as illegal and invalid. It also highlights some areas licensed to the Turkish Petroleum Corporation for exploration activities. In April, Greece completed its national Maritime Spatial Plan and published the official map, outlining its maritime zones in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, after years of delays that drew rebuke from the European Commission. Ankara rejected the Greek plan, arguing that it infringes on Turkey’s claimed maritime jurisdiction in both regions, and criticized what it described as Greece’s unilateral approach.

Bug food for pets was never Plan A — it’s the last resort for insect producers to stay afloat. They blame EU bureaucracy. “I wake up every morning for the fish, not to feed the pets,” said Sébastien Crépieux, CEO of Invers, a French insect producer based in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that grows mealworms in cooperation with local farmers. He explains that most insect producers started with the idea of replacing protein in fishmeal used to feed farmed fish with a more sustainable source — such as insects. Fishmeal is usually made from fish processing waste and forage fish like anchovies or sardines, and contributes to overfishing and biodiversity loss. In 2017, the European Commission approved the use of insect protein in aquaculture feed to address that issue. In 2022, it also allowed insects to be used in feed for pigs and poultry. For many in the field, that was a big step forward. “We all developed based on this concept,” said Crépieux. “But unfortunately, the Commission never banned fishmeal, so we’re still competing with a resource taken freely from the ocean at a very low price. Fishmeal imports into Europe must be controlled — we’re really killing the ocean,” he added. According to the 2024 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report, 10 percent of fish populations were fished at unsustainable levels in the mid-1970s. The number has almost quadrupled in 2021 to 37.7 percent of stocks. The ambitious EU monitoring rules on fisheries, which came into force last January, introduced electronic tracking systems for vessels and minimum sanctions for violations of the common fisheries policy — but failed to include limits on how much forage fish can be diverted to fishmeal. That’s where insect-based pet food comes in. “If we had to compete by selling our production as fish feed, we would already be dead,” said Crépieux. That is why he, like some other producers, shifted his focus to pet food. FEEDING PETS WITH BUGS Insect-based pet food — marketed as hypoallergenic and more sustainable — remains a niche product embraced mostly by true enthusiasts. Traditional pet food, made from meat or vegetable byproducts or grains, still dominates more than 99.5 percent of the market. According to Crépieux, it’s unlikely this type of pet food will ever become mainstream unless major brands like Purina or Acana adopt it. Insect-based pet food is marketed as hypoallergenic and more sustainable. | Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images Still, his company has managed to attract customers who care about the environment and good nutrition for their pets, he claimed. “The palatability is high. I think animals, unlike us, know what’s good for their health — they really eat it,” he said, adding that his cats are happy with this alternative protein. However, green NGOs like Eurogroup for Animals and Compassion in World Farming have questioned its true environmental benefits. “Farming insects has a higher sustainability impact than most traditional pet food ingredients … most insects are not sourced from Europe,” said Francis Maugère of Eurogroup for Animals. “If you want to rear them here, you can — but you must keep them at high temperature and humidity, which comes with financial and energy costs,” he added. The group also argues that there’s insufficient scientific evidence to support the hypoallergenic claims. “The sustainability of insect-based pet food is highly questionable — from insect welfare standards, to the need for diets based solely on byproducts rather than cereals and soy, to its high carbon footprint due to heating requirements,” said Phil Brooke, research and education manager at Compassion in World Farming. FEDIAF, which represents the European pet food industry, called insect-based pet food “one of several promising innovations” in the drive to diversify sustainable protein sources. Cecilia Lalander, a professor at the Swedish University of Uppsala specializing in insect use in waste management, believes using insects for pet food is “not the best use of resources.” “If we’re replacing pet food made from animal byproducts — like slaughter waste, which is already a good use of waste — then it’s really not sustainable,” she said. THE UNSUSTAINABLE LOOP Lack of fishmeal regulation isn’t the only source of frustration for insect producers. The EU classifies insects as farmed animals and prohibits using kitchen waste to feed them. As a result, insects are often raised on the same food processing byproducts — like wheat bran or brewery grains — that are already suitable for feeding pigs and cattle, making insects an unnecessary extra step in the food chain. Lalander argues this is inefficient and unsustainable. “The reason the insect industry can’t be as sustainable as it could be is entirely due to regulations,” she said. Following the mad cow disease (BSE) outbreak in the 1990s, the EU implemented strict rules to prevent a recurrence. It banned the use of processed meat in livestock feed, and ruled that farmed animals — including insects — may not be fed catering waste, as it could contain traces of meat. However, Lalander points out that insects cannot develop or transmit prions, the infectious proteins responsible for BSE, and that health risks are minimal. “The system the EU opposed was the most closed loop imaginable — giving feed originating from the same species, even if they were dead or sick,” she said. “What we propose is using post-consumer food waste to feed insects, which are then used to feed animals.” The European Commission, for its part, disagrees with the view that feeding insects with catering waste is risk-free. “The risks are not limited to BSE and prions only … but related to several transmissible animal diseases,” a Commission official said in response to a POLITICO inquiry. Catering waste may transmit several animal diseases such as African or classical swine fever, foot and mouth disease or avian influenza, the official said, while catering waste has been identified as a possible or likely source of infection in several outbreaks of these diseases in the EU. “Due to the nature of the insects which are living in their feed and are contaminated with their feeding substrate, only feeding substrate already declared safe for farmed animals has been authorized,” added the Commission official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Several scientific studies have found, however, that these risks can be avoided if food waste is treated properly before feeding it to insects. Such treatment can include fermentation, heat treatment, or drying to remove harmful pathogens that can be found in unprocessed food waste. Lalander argues that regulatory barriers aren’t the only challenge circular business models like the insect one are facing. Long-standing market expectations, shaped by cheap, linear production systems that overlook environmental costs, also pose a significant obstacle. “In a circular business model you pay for every step of the production. But if you look at the world market predominantly it’s a linear economy which means you take product and then you have a waste and that’s it,” Lalander said. She points out that expecting insect feed to be as cheap as fishmeal and soy is unrealistic, noting that “the cost for using soy and fish meal comes in the environmental impact.” Crépieux ended his conversation with POLITICO on a grim note. “Everything sustainable always loses. It’s always easier to take from nature, which is free,” Crépieux said.

Costas Kadis has a delicate task: protect the health of Europe’s ocean life, while also serving the needs of the fishing industry. Often these two interests are diametrically opposed. A biologist by background, Kadis (we can assume) has a deep understanding of ocean biodiversity. This came across in his response to answers, in which he pledged not to sacrifice ocean health for the short-term interest of the fishing sector. But how exactly does he intend to tread this fine line? That’s a core question members of the European Parliament’s fisheries committee will grill him on today. There’s also another issue hanging over Kadis. As a POLITICO investigation recently revealed, Kadis was Cyprus’ environment minister when the country was being investigated over a waste scandal, in which EU funding was provided for a waste treatment project that the Cypriot government knew could not deliver on its promises. While Kadis was not implicated in the scandal itself, questions remain over his handling of the fallout over the five years that he was environment minister.

Call it the evaluation before the job interview. Ahead of the aspiring commissioners facing a grilling from the European Parliament in early November, they must respond to lawmakers’ written questions. And the answers are in. Many of the incoming top brass are new to the Brussels’ policymaking machine. The written answers, in theory at least, are an opportunity to share their vision of their upcoming roles. Don’t get too excited though.  The majority of commissioner nominees rehashed previous statements from various Brussels institutions, whether from the political guidelines of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen or the so-called mission letters that she sent to her future commissioners. The answers were also partly written by the Commission’s civil servants, who have crafted and executed EU policies for decades.  The real test will be facing unexpected questions from European lawmakers when commissioner nominees can no longer rely on advisers to whisper the answers.  Still, the written answers give some indications to how the newcomers want to set the tone or change direction — which makes them worth combing through.  And POLITICO got stuck into more than 400 pages of written answers so you don’t have to. Here are our key takeaways.  MARIA LUÍS ALBUQUERQUE Portugal’s Maria Luís Albuquerque, the commissioner candidate for financial services and the Savings and Investments Union, said the bloc must “not roll back” global bank capital standards — the so-called Basel III accords, which aimed to make the financial system safer following the 2008 global financial crisis — and “must implement the rules,” pushing back against calls from EU countries to scrap some elements of existing regulation. Albuquerque, who will answer questions from European Parliament lawmakers at her confirmation hearing on Nov. 6, said in written responses to MEPs’ questions that the EU is “giving banks ample time to adapt to the new rules.” VALDIS DOMBROVSKIS Latvia’s Valdis Dombrovskis, the commissioner candidate for economy, productivity, implementation and simplification, gave his strongest support yet for conditions to be attached to European Union funding in the next budget, saying the bloc may draw inspiration from the successful linking of investment and reform within its pandemic recovery fund. His remarks formed part of his written answers to European lawmakers ahead of his Nov. 7 confirmation hearing in the European Parliament, and follow a similar push from von der Leyen. The remarks of Valdis Dombrovskis formed part of his written answers to European lawmakers ahead of his Nov. 7 confirmation hearing in the European Parliament, and follow a similar push from von der Leyen. | Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images CHRISTOPHE HANSEN Luxembourg’s Christophe Hansen, the commissioner candidate for agriculture and food, said the European Commission won’t publish a flagship framework law on sustainable food systems, in written answers ahead of his grilling by lawmakers on Nov. 4. “Rather than new legislative proposals, we can achieve our objectives by better implementing and enforcing existing legislation while using incentives and new market-based tools to promote change,” Hansen said in reply to a question on whether the EU’s executive would propose the framework next year. COSTAS KADIS Cyprus’ Costas Kadis, the commissioner candidate for fisheries and oceans, made it clear he won’t compromise on environmental protection ahead of his Nov. 6 confirmation hearing. In his role, Kadis will have the delicate task of balancing the interests of the EU’s fishing industry with those of imperiled ocean biodiversity — which are often diametrically opposed. Kadis, who has a background in biology, said his “top priority” was to “ensure that the fishing and aquaculture sectors remain sustainable, competitive and resilient.” HADJA LAHBIB Belgium’s Hadja Lahbib, the commissioner candidate for preparedness, crisis management and equality, dodged MEPs’ questions over the future of the Health Emergency and Response Authority (HERA) and hinted funding for health crisis planning could be hard to come by, ahead of her hearing on Nov. 6. MEPs asked whether she foresaw an expansion of HERA’s capacity and how she would manage financing issues that have already affected its work. In her statement Lahbib didn’t answer directly but said she would draw on HERA’s expertise for the EU preparedness strategy and for the Critical Medicines Act. TERESA RIBERA Spain’s Teresa Ribera, the executive vice president candidate for the clean, just and competitive transition, promised “swift and effective state aid” to back the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal, pitching public funds as a way to unlock private sector investments in “considerable” decarbonization costs, she told the European Parliament ahead of her Nov. 12 confirmation hearing. The Clean Industrial Deal — a bill to help companies meet the EU’s ambitious carbon-cutting targets and boost climate-friendly technologies — is one of Ribera’s top agenda items. The EU has vowed to release the legislation within 100 days of Ribera taking office. Spain’s Teresa Ribera, the executive vice president candidate for the clean, just and competitive transition, promised “swift and effective state aid” to back the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal. | Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images JESSIKA ROSWALL Sweden’s Jessika Roswall, the commissioner candidate for environment, water resilience and a competitive circular economy, stressed her commitment to the farming, forestry and bioeconomy industries ahead of her hearing on Nov. 5. In doing so, the lawyer-by-trade and former European affairs minister made it clear the European Commission’s green agenda will no longer take priority over support for the agricultural sector — addressing what became one of the biggest controversies of the last mandate. STÉPHANE SÉJOURNÉ France’s Stéphane Séjourné, the executive vice president candidate for prosperity and industrial strategy, said that the European Commission will thoroughly assess the way it scrutinizes foreign subsidies impacting takeover deals and public procurement in the EU. He commits to a review of the implementation of the rules in responses submitted ahead of his confirmation hearing on Nov. 12 and highlights the “appropriateness of the level of the notification thresholds.” He also says that Brussels will come up with a possible legislative proposal depending on the outcome of this review, as planned in the text of the regulation. OLIVÉR VÁRHELYI Hungary’s Olivér Várhelyi, the commissioner candidate for health and animal welfare, was opaque on pushing ahead with front-of-pack labels in written answers to MEPs on how to tackle ever-rising rates of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease, ahead of his hearing on Nov. 6. While he acknowledged that mandatory food information “can help consumers to make healthier consumer choices,” he nonetheless favors a “comprehensive approach” (EU-speak for nonlegislative measures). This could signal a line in the sand over stalled European Commission proposals to introduce front-of-pack health labels for all foods in Europe, as well as for alcoholic drinks. Hungary’s Olivér Várhelyi, the commissioner candidate for health and animal welfare, was opaque on pushing ahead with front-of-pack labels in written answers to MEPs. | Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images EKATERINA ZAHARIEVA Bulgaria’s Ekaterina Zaharieva, the commissioner candidate for startups, research and innovation — who is also tasked with leading the EU life sciences strategy — only briefly mentioned the hotly anticipated proposal ahead of her hearing on Nov. 5. But in her nine-page replies to the questions posed by MEPs, published Tuesday night, Zaharieva only said she will “engage with the relevant players to develop a Strategy for European Life Sciences, which will cover also biotechnology … (to) support a faster green and digital transition.” Helen Collis, Rory O’Neill, Claudia Chiappa, Aude van den Hove, Francesca Micheletti, Camille Gijs, Leonie Cater, Marianne Gros and Louise Guillot contributed to this report.

It’s a classic tale of man versus beast, only instead of the great white shark, it’s seals and cormorants that are keeping ministers in European Union countries on the Baltic Sea awake at night. The countries, backed by a number of others, have united in a push to relax EU rules limiting the shooting of seals and cormorants, arguing that these predators threaten their fish stocks and, by extension, coastal communities. Seals and cormorants are simply eating too many fish, which is preventing some fish stocks from recovering and being managed sustainably, Swedish Agriculture Minister Peter Kullgren told a meeting of agriculture and fisheries ministers in Luxembourg on Monday. “Over the past 20 years, we’ve seen a huge increase in their numbers in the Baltic Sea … and this, of course, is hindering the recovery of some of our fish stocks,” Kullgren said, adding that “we’ve seen two to three times more losses when it comes to landings.” Finland’s Agriculture Minister Sari Essayah doubled down, saying that cormorants are also a threat to aquaculture — a point echoed by Austria — and called on the European Commission to review EU laws to allow “population control.” Czech counterpart Zdeněk Nekula added that damages from cormorants amount to about €9 million in his country. “This significantly undermines the competitiveness of producers as well as biodiversity in free waters,” the minister said. POPULATION EXPLOSION The EU fishing industry also warned that seals and cormorants are a threat to the bloc’s food security. “The exploding seal and cormorant populations are clearly breaking the natural ecosystem balance and posing a severe threat to the continuation of fishing livelihoods,” a spokesperson for industry association Europêche said. “In Baltic coastal areas, seals and cormorants consume as much fish as is caught by fishing” and “in the context of food sovereignty, a fish preyed upon by cormorants is not available for human consumption and has to be imported,” they added. The push is part of a bigger trend in the EU to reassess the protection level of large predators, like wolves and bears. Last month, EU countries agreed to a Commission proposal to downgrade the protection of wolves and make it easier to grant permits to shoot animals that are threatening farmers’ livestock. Sweden and Finland have been among the member countries pushing hard for the wolf protection status to be changed. Now, Scandinavian countries are taking their fight with large predators to the sea. Environmental groups dispute that seals and cormorants are a threat to fish stocks. “The proposal to cull cormorants to protect fish stocks is tired, not based on any solid science, and a distraction from the real issue,” said Anouk Puymartin, a policy manager at the NGO BirdLife Europe. “The real threat to Baltic Sea fish stocks comes from human-driven factors like overfishing, pollution, and climate change. Scientific evidence shows that culling cormorants doesn’t solve the problem,” she added. The Commission said on Monday it had no plans to relax EU rules protecting cormorants, but did not rule out doing so for seals, depending on the results of an ongoing review expected to be completed by January. The EU executive also suggested that countries should clean up their own act before blaming wildlife for the poor performance of their fishing industry. The Baltic Sea is the most polluted in Europe and outgoing Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski told the ministers that its deplorable environmental state was the main reason for the decline in fish stocks. “Lack of oxygen, increasing water pollution, eutrophication … and limited connection to the North Sea are all pressures that need to be addressed first,” he said.