Dispatch from the European Union | May '25

*** Get a bird's-eye view of the EU’s climate-friendly transition in the CLEW Guide – How the European Union is trying to legislate a path to net-zero ***

Stories to watch in the weeks ahead

• Simplification drive: Following the controversial weakening of sustainability reporting rules in February, the European Commission is expected to turn its red tape scissors towards agricultural and potentially more green legislation. On 14 May, the European Commission is due to propose its planned “omnibus” to simplify the Common Agricultural Policy. This aims to lessen any excessive administrative burden for farmers and national administrations in managing, monitoring and reporting, according to a European Commission spokesperson. The move could affect significant sums of money and will likely be far from easy. On 21 May, the European Commission will follow this with simplification for small mid-caps companies that has been rumoured to impact the Energy Efficiency Directive, the Renewable Energy Directive, and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Whether these are still part of it is yet to be seen. However, there are fears that reopening these leaves space for other parts of the laws to be weakened. At their March meeting, EU leaders called on EU policymakers to work as quickly as possible to agree on the changes to EU sustainability rules proposed in February.

• 2040 target: The European Commission is expected to propose the legal text to add the EU’s 2040 emission reduction goal to its climate law “before summer”. While it is widely expected to be a net reduction of 90%, as the European Commission suggested in 2024, this cannot be made official until it is formally proposed by the Commission and agreed by the European Parliament and member states. EU countries, like Germany, have backed the target, while others are concerned about the potential impact on Europe’s industries, a worry echoed by leading conservative politician Peter Liese, a fellow member of new German chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative CDU party. Germany has also raised the question of whether international carbon credits could be used to achieve the goal. There is no fixed date for when it will be proposed, but there is speculation that it will not come out until after the Polish elections, which finish on 1 June.

• Money talks: Conversations are taking place in Brussels ahead of the next seven-year budget, the MFF, which will run from 2028 to 2035. The European Commission will hold an orientation debate on the “MFF” on 14 May. With EU governments’ budgets already strained, the need to increase security and defence and continue investments in the energy transition will likely lead to difficult conversations. However, some experts suggest these aims could converge. Meanwhile, NGOs will be closely watching what happens to the LIFE Programme, which supports nature and biodiversity projects and has funded some of their work. This has come under fire from right-wing groups as part of a pushback against NGOs. The European Commission is expected to propose the new state aid framework unveiled in the Clean Industrial Deal in February on 25 June.

• Oceans ahoy: Ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference, co-hosted by France and Costa Rica from 9-13 June, the European Commission is expected to present its Ocean Pact on 4 June. This should set a holistic approach for ocean-related EU policy, help support resilient, healthy oceans, and promote the blue economy. Several EU countries, including France, Spain and Germany, have also backed a moratorium against deep sea mining, citing concerns about the potentially negative impacts. This directly opposes the Trump Administration, which is looking to kickstart the controversial method of critical mineral recovery.

The latest in EU policymaking – last month in recap

• Plans to ditch Russian energy: On 6 May, the European Commission tabled its plan to completely phase out Russian oil, gas and nuclear energy from the EU energy system by 2027. Since the invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis, the EU has tried to break away from Russian energy supplies. Russia went from providing 45 percent of EU gas imports in 2021 to 19 percent in 2024. However, gas imports began to increase again last year. The complete phase out requires EU member states to prepare national plans by the end of the year to move away from Russian energy. The Commission also intends to ban new contracts for Russian gas and existing spot contracts by the end of 2025 at the latest, which it says will cut dependencies by a third. It then wants to end existing long-term gas supply contracts by no later than the end of 2027.. The roadmap follows the REPowerEU plan proposed in May 2022 that looked at reducing energy consumption, speeding up the transition to clean energy, and diversifying supplies. The new plan will be accompanied by continued efforts to ensure alternative supplies and the EU's clean transition objectives, according to the Commission. Environmental and green business groups have called on Europe not to replace Russian supplies with other fossil imports, citing particular concerns about US LNG. Meanwhile, the think tank Strategic Perspectives’ EU Gas Insight tool found that the EU does not need any new contracts or major infrastructure.

• Climate warnings: 2024 was the warmest year on record and Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, according to the annual European State of the Climate Report from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organisation. The report warns that heatwaves are becoming more frequent and severe, and that southern Europe is seeing widespread drought. Europe’s glaciers continue to melt, and precipitation changes are also impacting the continent. Drought concerns have been seen throughout much of Europe already this year.

• Energy security: The United Kingdom and the International Energy Agency hosted a Summit on the Future of Energy Security on 24 and 25 April, 2025. The meeting, attended by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, focused on the traditional and emerging risks for energy security as geopolitical tensions, technological revolutions, and climate change create more uncertainty. Key takeaways include that energy security is part of national security, the role of the energy transition - a view not shared by the United States - and the importance of critical minerals.

• Flexibility on car emissions and deforestation: The European Commission gave car manufacturers more time to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from their new car fleets. While the 2025 target remains the same, manufacturers can meet it over a longer period, allowing them to take an average over several years. This will enable them to overshoot and make up for it later. The EU also loosened reporting rules under its deforestation law, following a move to delay its implementation by a year.

• Circularity drive. The European Commission has published a list of the products it thinks should be prioritised for ecodesign requirements and energy labelling. The priority products include steel, aluminium, textiles, furniture, tyres and mattresses. The new requirements will cover product performance, like minimum durability and resource-efficiency standards, and product information, including carbon and environmental footprint. The EU executive also intends to publish requirements on repairability for consumer electronics and small household appliances, including a repairability score and recycling requirements.

Kira’s picks: top events

• UK / EU summit: London will host a meeting between the European Union and the United Kingdom on 19 May. While the headline topic is defence, energy is also expected to be on the table. Industry groups are asking the UK to consider relinking its carbon market with the EU’s.

• EU Sustainable Energy Week: The annual EU Sustainable Energy Week will take place from 10-12 June in Brussels and include speakers such as energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen and climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra. Panels will examine competitiveness, energy efficiency and affordability, renewables, and more.

Kira’s picks: top reads

• EU governments discuss action on disinformation over climate policy by Robert Hodgson with Euronews.

• EU countries divided over bloc's next climate goal by Kate Abnett with Reuters.