{"id":99547,"date":"2026-07-09T06:00:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T04:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/?p=99547"},"modified":"2026-08-27T12:37:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T10:37:47","slug":"eu-omnibusgesetze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/eu-omnibusgesetze\/","title":{"rendered":"EU bus and coach laws: How deregulation weakens human rights, the environment and consumer protection"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid wpex-relative\"><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-sm-12\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"98\" data-end=\"531\">The European Union is reducing key standards of protection at an unprecedented pace. Under the slogan of <strong data-start=\"216\" data-end=\"235\">\"Simplification\"<\/strong> At the same time, environmental, consumer and human rights regulations are weakened or completely dismantled. Ten so-called omnibus packages from the European Commission are deeply interfering with existing EU laws \u2013 from supply chain law to chemicals and environmental law to data protection and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"533\" data-end=\"1026\">With the briefing <strong data-start=\"550\" data-end=\"681\">\u201cWe are being overwhelmed \u2013 European bus and coach laws and their impact on human rights, the environment and consumers\u201d<\/strong> For the first time, PowerShift systematically classifies these developments. The publication explains the political background of the omnibus agenda, analyses all ten well-known omnibus packages and shows the impact of the planned legislative changes on human rights, the environment, consumer protection and democratic decision-making processes.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1kya7ll\" data-start=\"1028\" data-end=\"1059\">What are the Omnibus Laws?<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1061\" data-end=\"1278\">Omnibu proceedings bundle amendments to several laws in a single legislative procedure. Initially, they were intended to facilitate technical adjustments and efficiently update existing legislation.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1280\" data-end=\"1645\">However, the current bus packages pursue a different goal. They serve to reduce reporting requirements, speed up approval procedures and reduce regulatory requirements for companies. Within a short period of time, the European Commission has presented ten bus and coach packages covering almost all key areas of European regulation.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"16hbz84\" data-start=\"1647\" data-end=\"1701\">A deregulation agenda with far-reaching consequences<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1703\" data-end=\"1803\">Omnibus laws are fundamentally changing European legislation. Among other things, the following are affected:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1805\" data-end=\"2086\">\n<li data-section-id=\"9q9fqb\" data-start=\"1805\" data-end=\"1851\">Human rights along global supply chains<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"iax0p5\" data-start=\"1852\" data-end=\"1877\">Climate and environmental protection<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"soym7u\" data-start=\"1878\" data-end=\"1903\">Consumer protection<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"py0rrq\" data-start=\"1904\" data-end=\"1942\">Data protection and digital fundamental rights<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"mgh8td\" data-start=\"1943\" data-end=\"1979\">Chemical and product safety<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"12iwfl4\" data-start=\"1980\" data-end=\"2020\">Agriculture and circular economy<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1dqj947\" data-start=\"2021\" data-end=\"2048\">Public investment<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"8yb0y5\" data-start=\"2049\" data-end=\"2086\">Regulation of artificial intelligence<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"2088\" data-end=\"2337\">Numerous organizations and scientists criticize not only the content changes, but also the procedure. The Omnibus laws were drafted without comprehensive impact assessments and in shortened consultation procedures.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"15awjlu\" data-start=\"2339\" data-end=\"2381\">Overview of the most important changes<\/h2>\n<h3 data-section-id=\"oh7mgy\" data-start=\"2383\" data-end=\"2449\">Supply Chain Law and Sustainability Rules Are Weakened<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"2451\" data-end=\"2622\">The first omnibus package amends the European Supply Chain Act (CSDDD), Sustainability Reporting (CSRD) and the CO\u2082 Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2624\" data-end=\"2876\">Significantly fewer companies will be subject to due diligence and reporting obligations in the future. At the same time, uniform civil liability across Europe is eliminated and binding transformation plans to meet the climate targets are weakened.<\/p>\n<h3 data-section-id=\"dg57x0\" data-start=\"2878\" data-end=\"2924\">Environmental and agricultural law come under pressure<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"2926\" data-end=\"3214\">Environmental and nature conservation requirements are also withdrawn. The common agricultural policy will continue to be deregulated and environmental requirements and controls will be reduced. Other omnibus packages include circular economy, industrial emissions and environmental impact assessments.<\/p>\n<h3 data-section-id=\"f12y47\" data-start=\"3216\" data-end=\"3264\">Less protection for chemicals and products<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"3266\" data-end=\"3515\">The European Commission is planning longer transitional periods for substances hazardous to health, as well as facilitation of labelling and reporting requirements for chemical products, including cosmetics. Critics warn against weakening the precautionary principle and consumer protection.<\/p>\n<h3 data-section-id=\"1wy0bh\" data-start=\"3517\" data-end=\"3563\">Data protection and AI rules are relaxed<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"3565\" data-end=\"3782\">Digital fundamental rights are also under scrutiny. These include facilitation of the processing of personal data and the subsequent introduction of safeguards for high-risk artificial intelligence applications.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1biioic\" data-start=\"3784\" data-end=\"3817\">Why Briefing is Important<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"3819\" data-end=\"4019\">Omnibus packages are complex, negotiated in parallel and cover a wide range of policy areas. As a result, it is often difficult for politically interested parties to keep track of the situation.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4021\" data-end=\"4115\">For the first time, the briefing provides an overall picture of the European bus and coach agenda and provides:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"4117\" data-end=\"4534\">\n<li data-section-id=\"9o7nrb\" data-start=\"4117\" data-end=\"4173\">a comprehensible introduction to omnibu procedures;<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"zp2b6q\" data-start=\"4174\" data-end=\"4231\">an overview of all ten well-known bus packages,<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1dcwxzw\" data-start=\"4232\" data-end=\"4312\">a classification of the political backgrounds and the most important actors,<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"m18g8s\" data-start=\"4313\" data-end=\"4412\">an analysis of the impact on human rights, the environment, consumer protection and democracy;<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"14viyf\" data-start=\"4413\" data-end=\"4534\">a compact basis for policy makers, journalists, academia and civil society.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"4536\" data-end=\"4676\">The publication thus offers a sound orientation towards one of the most far-reaching legislative processes in the European Union at present.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"hxflbu\" data-start=\"4678\" data-end=\"4703\">Download Briefing<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"4705\" data-end=\"5063\">If you want to understand how the European deregulation agenda is developing and what consequences it has for human rights, environmental protection and consumer protection, you will find in the briefing <strong data-start=\"4880\" data-end=\"5011\">\u201cWe are being overwhelmed \u2013 European bus and coach laws and their impact on human rights, the environment and consumers\u201d<\/strong> A thorough analysis of current developments.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4705\" data-end=\"5063\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Omnibus_Briefing_Juli2026.pdf\">Download the briefing now for free.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/product\/eu-omnibusgesetze\/\">Available as print here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"1500\" data-end=\"1520\">Press &amp; Background<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"9350\" data-end=\"9499\">For interviews, audio and data please contact:<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/presse\/\">Press and Public Relations Unit<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong>presse@power-shift<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"9350\" data-end=\"9499\"><a href=\"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/author\/bettina-mueller\/\"><strong>Bettina M\u00fcller<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nTrade and Investment Policy Officer<br \/>\nBettina.Mueller@power-shift.de<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"9350\" data-end=\"9499\"><a href=\"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/newsletter-bestellen\/\"><strong>newsletters<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nThe PowerShift newsletter regularly informs about new studies, background analyses, events and political developments.<\/p>\n<h2>Co-editors<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anders-handeln.at\/\">Acting differently Austria<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.attac.de\/\">ATTAC Germany<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.attac.at\/\">ATTAC Austria<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbgnetwork.org\/\">Coordination against BAYER dangers<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/buerokratiemonster.eu\/de\/\">Monsters of bureaucracy<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fian.de\/\">FIAN Germany<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/forumue.de\/\">Forum Environment &amp; Development<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.global2000.at\/\">GLOBAL2000<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kettensaege-stoppen.at\/\">Stop the chainsaw!<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lobbycontrol.de\/\">LobbyControl<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/pan-germany.org\/\">Pesticide Action Network UK<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-99555\" src=\"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Mitherausgeberinnen-300x71.png\" alt=\"Risks of deregulation and EU ombudsman proceedings\" width=\"482\" height=\"114\" srcset=\"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Mitherausgeberinnen-300x71.png 300w, https:\/\/power-shift.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Mitherausgeberinnen-768x181.png 768w, https:\/\/power-shift.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Mitherausgeberinnen-18x4.png 18w, https:\/\/power-shift.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Mitherausgeberinnen-600x141.png 600w, https:\/\/power-shift.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Mitherausgeberinnen.png 884w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" \/><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The European Union is reducing key standards of protection at an unprecedented pace. Under the slogan \u2018simplification\u2019, environmental, consumer and human rights rules are simultaneously weakened or completely dismantled. Ten so-called omnibus packages from the European Commission are deeply interfering with existing EU laws \u2013 from supply chain law to chemicals and environmental law to data protection and artificial intelligence. With the \u2026","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":99548,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[378],"tags":[483,64,431],"post_series":[],"thema":[15],"coauthors":[461],"class_list":["post-99547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-briefing","tag-deregulierung","tag-handelspolitik-de","tag-menschenrechtsschutz","thema-handelspolitik","entry","has-media"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99547"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99641,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99547\/revisions\/99641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99547"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_series?post=99547"},{"taxonomy":"thema","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thema?post=99547"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=99547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}