The European Union’s Ombudswoman has accused the European Commission of rushing to propose measures on sustainability reporting, agriculture, and migrant smuggling without adhering to its own rules on transparent and evidence-based lawmaking. The watchdog of EU institutions stated that the Commission failed to adequately justify the urgency of these measures. The findings come from an inquiry prompted by a complaint from climate and human rights campaigners.
Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho stated that these shortcomings amounted to maladministration, emphasising that certain principles of good lawmaking cannot be compromised, even when urgency is a factor. In response, the European Commission has said that it will carefully consider the recommendations made. However, it maintains that it produced solid evidence regarding the problems and the necessary responses, and that its decision-making processes included input from consultations.
The initial complaint, filed in April by eight organisations, alleged that the Commission had proposed a weakening of sustainability rules following private meetings with industry lobbyists. They claimed this occurred without first consulting the public about the suggested legal changes or properly assessing their potential impact.
The organisations involved reiterated on Thursday that any political agreement should be grounded in solid evidence and align with EU climate goals. They further stated that if these conditions cannot be met, the Commission should withdraw its proposal to ensure proper procedure is followed and transparency is maintained.
