EC President Ursula von der Leyen seeks to undo her own Green agenda without letting the Greens know.
Blindsiding Brussels
Politico comments Ursula von der Leyen Blindsided Brussels with her Deregulation Drive
The Commission president is pushing a sweeping, rapid and centralized agenda to “simplify” EU rules — and not everyone in Brussels is thrilled.
POLITICO spoke with figures across the Brussels policymaking world, from Commission officials at different levels of seniority to national diplomats, European Parliament lawmakers, industry and NGOs.
The picture they paint is of a sweeping, rapid and centralized agenda to “simplify” European Union rules and slash burdensome regulations on businesses large and small, reflecting a rapid shift in priorities away from the environment and toward industrial competitiveness.
From Commission staffers “depressed” to see years of work being speedily undone, to Cabinet officials straining for influence under von der Leyen’s centralized working style, the speed and top-down nature of the new deregulation drive has transparency alarm bells ringing in Brussels.
Pretty much no one had been informed. Four Commission officials told POLITICO they learned of the plan — which directly affects their work and which they would be tasked with putting into legislation — from the Budapest speech.
European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde co-authored an op-ed in the Financial Times with von der Leyen in praise of the deregulatory push, arguing that there is “too much at stake” for the EU to “squander our strengths with self-imposed handicaps.”
DOGE Job on Green Energy
It’s a blank slate. Literally.
Eurointelligence discusses Ursula von der Leyen’s DOGE Job (or lack thereof).
Ursula von der Leyen is busy undoing the green agenda of her last term. Her push to simplify EU rules happened so fast that the policy world in Brussels did not really know about it until it was already happening. No transparency and no forewarning. Everything is decided at the top, with her cabinet officials struggling to influence the decision making process.
It started last November in Budapest, when von der Leyen announced drastic changes on green policy to lighten the burden on industrial competitiveness. An omnibus bill was to simplify existing rules to hold companies to account for environmental and social damages. Since Budapest, the simplification drive widened to include five further omnibus bills in 2025 and the deletion of Commission proposals that are now considered as too onerous. The Commission also asked EU member states to fast-track simplification rules.
Does von der Leyen know what she is doing? Politico spoke to Commission officials at different levels of seniority to national diplomats, European Parliament lawmakers, industry and NGOs.
A leaked work plan of the Commission has a blank section where usually legislative proposals are listed for withdrawal. Another leaked document has a blank space where details of the omnibus bill on green policies should have been. Is it because von der Leyen’s circle did not know what to put in there or because von der Leyen does not want lower level staffers to comment on her plans?
Three weeks ago von der Leyen promised to hold talks with the four major groups in the European Parliament to ensure smooth passage before the bill is presented on 26 February. But the Commission did not reach out to them until this Tuesday. Trade unions, green finance groups, and environmental NGOs also complain that there has not been a proper consultation process.
In democracies, or supranational institutions like the EU, breaking things is more difficult than proposing new legislation. It hurts some interests, and you can get stuck in endless talks to find the right balance between the various interests. But that does not mean decisions should be happening in a vacuum. Von der Leyen still has to explain what she is doing and why.
Looking over to the US, Elon Musk is doing the same job on a massive scale. For sure, it is easier there than here in the EU. But Musk also goes into a media offensive linking his mandate back to the election results that clearly wanted Donald Trump and his program. There is no surprise there, only for those who underestimated Trump. Von der Leyen does not have the same mandate. The need to explain and get people on board is thus even more necessary.
DOGE US-Style vs DOGE EU-Style
- US-DOGE: Rampage through bureaucracies you don’t even understand, fire people without knowing what they do, and brag about everything you do, whether it happens or not.
- EU-DOGE: Hide what you do, explain nothing, and pretend you know what you are doing when all you offer is a blank page.
Red Tape Cutting Party
I am not convinced Ursula von der Leyen will cut much, if any, any red tape.
Her EU-style mission is to get consensus which is impossible. The Greens will not change, nor will SPD, CDU, or AfD.
To propose anything major would upset at least 75 percent of Europe. Heck proposing anything at all will upset a huge majority.
Ultimately, I expect von der Leyen to propose cutting some meaningless stuff at the fringes.
The Greens will then howl too much, the conservatives too little, and the centrists (what remains of them) will hope the issue will go away but it won’t.
The Blank Slate Idea
The EU needs a serious DOGE job on Green energy.
Eurointellinigence says “Von der Leyen still has to explain what she is doing and why.”
Calling Musk, calling Musk. He would have no problem with this, nor would I.
Ironically, blank pages are a great start. The EU should throw away every Green policy in the new and existing omnibus bills and replace them with nothing.
The problem isn’t the blank pages. The problem is what will soon be on regulation pages that in fact should be blank.
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