The European Commission is the only institution that has the legal capacity to suggest new laws at European level. The law proposal follows then a process, that ends with the decision of the European Parliament on the one hand, and of the Member States representatives gathered in a dedicated Council, on the other hand.
In other words, there is some time between the moment when we hear about a new law being put forward by the European Commission, and the moment when it may be officially endorsed. This time may be the precious opportunity to convince our neighbours, our European parliamentarians and the leaders of our nations to make choices that do not endanger our lives and the life of future generations…
Let us learn from the past. On 26 February 2025, the European Commission put forward a proposal aiming at simplifying environmental laws and reducing administrative burdens for the private sector. The outcome of this unprecedented « Omnibus package », which is in the crosshairs of the European Ombudsman, is to lessen the impact of various European laws that make the EU Green Deal, while some of those laws have not even been applied yet.
CIDSE, the international platform of Catholic organisations working towards social justice, has been at the forefront of the campaign warning against the consequences of the Omnibus 1 Directive, which has been endorsed on 16 December 2025 thanks to an agreement of the right and far-right EU Parliamentarians. The Christian NGO reports here on why this almost one-year process has been a failure for people and the planet.
However, if a battle was lost, there is more to come. A leak has revealed the next Omnibus project of the European Commission and gives us all an advance that only confirmed lobbyists usually may have ! Christians may have the time to think of saying no to pesticides, yes to quality food. This would be in line with our booklet Every Part of Creation Matters, here in free access. To get more into details about the consequences of the upcoming Omnibus 7 Directive if it would be adopted as such, the Pesticide Action Network has prepared some food for thought : make up your own mind with this detailed briefing and let us know whether you would like ECEN to take this work forward.
Rev Claire des Mesnards - ECEN Executive Secretary. ecen
ecen [dot] org