In Brief: On 23 March 2023, the European Commission submitted its proposal for the Green Claims Directive, a text aiming to tackle greenwashing in consumer-facing commercial practices, addressing the topic of animal welfare. The Commission’s proposal has since been amended by both the EU Council (representing member States) and the European Parliament. The three institutions are currently in the final phase of negotiations to reach a final agreement through a process known as the "trilogue."
The second trilogue -negotiations - between the EU Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament on Green Claims took place on 24 April and addressed notably the topic of animal welfare.
Indeed, the question of including the negative impacts on animal welfare (and in the calculation of the carbon footprint of agricultural products) is one of the key outstanding issues in the text that addresses environmental claims.
The EU Council insists that animal welfare is not an environmental objective. However, regarding the specific and limited scope of evaluating negative trade-offs, the EU Council seems to suggest acceding to the European Parliament's strong request to include animal welfare as an additional aspect to be considered alongside environmental aspects.
Next Steps :
- The next trilogue on the text is scheduled for 10 June.