Berlin, 9 July 2026. A week after the publication of a Joint Declaration against the creeping dismantling of intellectual property rights in Europe, which was supported by 150 supporters, civil society organisations and alliances from Germany and Austria are pursuing. In the briefing published today “We are being overwhelmed – the European bus and coach laws and their consequences for human rights, the environment and consumers”, Anders Handel Austria, ATTAC Germany, ATTAC Austria, Coordination Against BAYER Dangers, the Bureaucracy Monsters, FIAN Germany, Forum Umwelt & Development, GLOBAL 2000, Stop Chainsaw!, LobbyControl, PowerShift e.V. and the Pesticide Action Network Germany point out the dangers of the deregulation agenda currently taking place at EU level.
The paper provides an overview of the emergence and content of the ten Omnibus legislative packages, which concern important changes to European legislation on environmental, climate, data and consumer protection. It identifies the drivers of this agenda and shows the consequences they have for people in the European Union.
“What is sold as simplification and cutting red tape turns out to be an explosive device for European protection standards. This ‘omnibus fleet’ overruns hard-won laws and regulations in favour of one-sided corporate interests, all at a rapid pace. Although the changes affect us all, so far only very few people know about them. That should change with this paper”, says Bettina Müller, Trade and Investment Policy Officer at PowerShift e.V.
‘In 2024, in their ‘Antwerp Declaration’, the chemical companies had called for omnibus legislative packages ‘to correct all relevant existing EU regulations’ and thus provided the impetus for the deregulation initiative. Accordingly, BAYER & Co. are among the main profiteers. “de-bureaucratisation” ranges from easier handling of hazardous chemicals, faster plant permits and fewer environmental reporting requirements, to permanent pesticide approvals.” Jan Pehrke (Coordination against BAYER dangers)
“In order to enforce human rights, the actions and value chains of business enterprises must be transparent”, insists Gertrud Falk of FIAN Deutschland. “By reducing public reporting obligations, the EU prevents those affected by infringements from being able to identify those responsible along value chains. At the same time, it also deprives itself of its credibility to protect human rights and the environment.”
“The dismantling of protection standards under the guise of “de-bureaucratisation” affects us all. When toxic pesticides are permanently approved or data protection gets under the wheel, our health, our environment and our democracy are at risk. That is why we are joining forces with civil society: Together, we call on our governments to defend our valuable standards of protection." said Magdalena Pitzer, Coordinator of the Stop Chainsaw Platform! in Austria.
The publication can be downloaded here: https://power-shift.de/eu-omnibusgesetze/
Press contact:
Bettina Müller, PowerShift e.V., 0174 4537604, bettina.mueller@power-shift.de
Gertrud Falk, FIAN Germany, tel. 0151-56996278, g.falk@fian.de
