STATEMENT| ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY | INDUSTRIAL POLICY
Simplification of European Environmental Law EU Environmental Omnibus: A first step – further action needed
February 10, 2026 Cargo bike instead of omnibus – improvements needed In view of the tense economic situation in Germany and Europe, German industry strongly supports the EU Commission's goal of strengthening competitiveness in Europe through simplification and debureaucratization. However, German industry is convinced that simplifying and reducing the bureaucracy of procedures and laws does not mean abandoning high environmental and health protection standards. Rather, it is a matter of better reconciling competitiveness with a high level of environmental protection. This requires a careful balance between environmental protection and competitiveness. The Commission's proposals send an initial signal for reducing bureaucracy: the deletions in the Industrial Emissions Directive can provide noticeable relief for German industry. Another positive aspect is that environmental impact assessments are to be carried out more quickly in future and the SCIP database is to be abolished. However, there is potential for more. For example, the changes to the IED's environmental management system must go further. In addition, the standard setting of limit values at the lower end of the BAT ranges should be abolished and exemptions from limit values should be extended and facilitated. Other measures worth mentioning include the abolition of the baseline report for soil and groundwater and a "stop-the-clock" rule for the implementation of the IED into national law. The announced review and revision of the Water Framework Directive is an important signal. It is long overdue, if only because the directive has remained essentially unchanged since it came into force in 2000. However, swift action is needed. The directive stipulates that good water status must be achieved by 2027, and it is foreseeable that this target will not be met in any Member State. This creates considerable legal uncertainty for authorities and companies, which must be eliminated quickly. For this reason, a series of measures should be taken in advance in a further omnibus procedure. The same applies in principle to the revision of the nature protection directives. These too have remained virtually unchanged since they came into force. It is not enough to simply carry out a fitness check here.
Dr. Alexander Kessler | Energy, Mobility, Environment | T: +32 2 7921007 | a.kessler@bdi.eu | www.bdi.eu