Leading environmental NGOs warn: Deregulation push threatens Europe’s long-term competitiveness, security and public health

els, 17 March 2026 – Ahead of this week’s European Council meeting, five of Europe’s leading environmental organisations have urged EU Heads of State and Government to halt the accelerating deregulation agenda, warning that current political pressure to “cut red tape” risks weakening the foundations of the Single Market and undermining Europe’s long‑term competitiveness, security and public health. 

The joint letter – issued by BirdLife Europe, Climate Action Network Europe, the European Environmental Bureau, Transport & Environment and the WWF European Policy Office – follows a series of growing  concerns expressed by civil society and clean‑industry leaders regarding attempts to weaken climate and environmental legislation. This includes efforts to dilute the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), which more than 30 NGOs warned would destabilise Europe’s carbon market, increase fossil‑fuel dependence and jeopardise Europe’s climate goals in a second letter issued last week. 

Out-of-control deregulation threatens Europe’s stability

According to the NGOs, the deregulation drive currently shaping EU policy debates:

• Risks fragmentation of the Single Market, by creating uneven rules and uncertainty for businesses.
• Undermines investor confidence, just as Europe needs predictable, future‑proof frameworks to drive innovation and clean‑tech leadership.
• Delays the green transition and deepens fossil‑fuel dependence, making Europe more vulnerable to volatile global energy markets, as is shown again by the war unfolding in the Middle East.
• Penalises clean frontrunners while rewarding those resisting change.
• Puts public health at risk, particularly where air quality, water protection and chemical‑safety standards are concerned.

The groups highlight that enforcing existing environmental law — instead of weakening it — would generate €180 billion in annual economic savings, whereas the cost of climate inaction could reach €5.6 trillion in Europe over the next 30 years.

Call for a strategic refocus at EUCO 

Ahead of the European Council, the NGOs urge leaders to: 

1. Guarantee that regulatory “simplification” will not weaken environmental, climate or social protections. The real barrier to competitiveness is political inertia as governments and EU institutions move too slowly on existing agreements and implementation, not strong environmental rules. 
2. Reorient the competitiveness agenda towards large‑scale investment in the green transition. The ECB estimates €1.2 trillion per year will be needed between 2025 and 2031 to meet Europe’s climate, digital and defence goals. Private finance alone cannot deliver this. New EU‑level public financing instruments will be essential. 
3. Accelerate Europe’s exit from fossil fuels. Renewables‑based electrification, efficiency, demand management and grid integration are the only credible pathways to energy security and price stability. This must go hand in hand with regulatory and market rule stability, including a strong, predictable carbon price.
4. Recognise the economic cost of inaction on nature, climate and health. The €12 billion that all existing “omnibus packages” claim to save is negligible compared to the costs of climate damage, which will fall on public budgets. 
5. Ensure balanced access to EU decision‑making. Disproportionate lobbying by polluting industries threatens democratic legitimacy and risks skewing EU policy away from public interest. 

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