ClientEarth Europe
@clienteartheur
⚖️News and comments on our legal and advocacy work from across Europe. Part of @ClientEarth’s global work to use the power of the law to protect life on Earth.
Do you want to put a stop to unselective fishing? Add your name to the petition to protect marine life from bycatch: act.clientearth.org/page/189510/...
Guess how much could you save if you produced clean energy locally? Up to €930/year. For some, this is already a reality: in Policzna, a municipality in Poland, an energy cooperative helped cut the town hall’s electricity bills by almost 90% and avoid increases in water and sewage prices. 🧵
WIN💫 The EU Commission refused to give us access to crucial documents around mining projects in Europe. We filed a complaint to @ombudsman.europa.eu and we won: she agrees with us that refusing to give access to the documents is unjustified and that the Commission should make them public! 🧵
We're taking legal action against Hungary and Poland to make it easy for everyone to access clean, affordable energy. How? With energy communities☀️ The EU gave us the right to energy communities years ago. But some countries still haven’t made them accessible. That's why today we're taking action.
Fluffy promises won’t cut it this time: the Ombudswoman calls on the institution to show, in practice, how it will ensure transparent, evidence-based and inclusive law-making. That counts for urgent procedures too. This is what it means:
📢 Companies incl. Shell & TotalEnergies are being called out for greenwashing 📢 Today, @beuc.eu & 12 other consumer organisations across Europe filed a complaint against Shell, TotalEnergies, ENGIE & EniPlenitude, for using misleading green claims around fossil fuels in household energy offers.1/6
We just won a landmark case to protect one of Europe’s most important marine sanctuaries: the Dogger Bank. 💫 The court ruling sets a precedent for governments across Europe and sends a clear message: protected must mean protected.
Ocean & Fisheries Commissioner Kadis presented the #CommonFisheriesPolicy evaluation report to Member States to the AGRIFISH Council today. The report leaves no room for doubt: "Evidence points to shortcomings in control, enforcement and compliance over the past decade".
A public consultation is open until 1 June. It's your chance to express why sustainable, deforestation-free leather matters to you. If fashion brands are not part of this conversation, it will be assumed that you do not care. Have your say before it's too late:
Dear Fashion Brands, Thanks to industry lobbying, leather is about to be cut out of the EU’s deforestation law. If leather is excluded, there'll be no credible system for you to prove your leather is deforestation-free. So the legal & reputational burden will shift onto you. Will you speak up?
ClientEarth reaction to the European Commission’s evaluation of the #CommonFisheriesPolicy, published today ⚖️🐟 The report confirms that the #CFP “remains a very important and relevant tool to manage a common natural resource and related economic activities in a changing world.”
⚠️We're taking France to court to protect seabirds from unselective fishing. Every year, 30-40,000 birds are caught in fishing gear and discarded into the ocean. We think that French authorities failed to monitor and protect them - breaching multiple EU laws, like the Birds and Habitats Directives.
A few current vacancies: Lawyer*, Marine Biodiversity Conservation, Remote - Jakarta Programme Officer, London or Brussels Project Manager, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, London Not seeing the right role yet? You can register your interest: jobs.clientearth.org/register-you...
🎉 Win against greenwashing 🎉 Nestlé is now the second company to commit to change its greenwashing advertising practices around plastic bottles as a result of a complaint we supported, filed by @beuc.eu in 2023 1/4
Leather is a deforestation driver. We’ve joined NGOs calling on the Commission not to exclude leather from the EU Deforestation Regulation. Removing it would allow products linked to deforestation into the EU market. Strong laws must be based on scientific evidence, not industry lobbying.
Today we handed a symbolic ‘Pandora’s Box’ to Commissioner Costas Kadis as Fisheries Ministers from EU Member States meet with the Commission. Reopening the Common Fisheries Policy risks undermining years of progress in restoring Europe’s fish stocks. Now we need political will to deliver.
Projects, if designated as “strategic," could reshape landscapes and livelihoods. That's why the reasons for these decisions and the envi impacts must be made public. An example is a lithium mine project planned in Portugal. The Commission declared it “strategic”. We're challenging this in court.
⚠️We're taking the European Commission to Court. After its refusal to provide access to the content of its decisions under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), we are standing up for nature and local communities.
💫Win for transparency and environmental protection 💫 The Commission refused to give us access to key documents on how they decided, together with Member States reps, to approve a toxic chemical in pesticides. So we took them to court - and they confirmed that such opacity is unlawful.
We're taking Spanish authorities to the Supreme Court. Something fishy and possibly illegal is going on in West African waters, and it involves some Spanish-owned fishing vessels. Yet authorities are refusing to investigate. So we're taking action - asking to finally act against illegal fishing.
At court in The Hague for the hearing of our case against the Dutch govt: they are allowing destructive bottom trawling in the Dogger Bank marine protected area - wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. We're taking action - because Protected must mean Protected. Ruling expected in six weeks - stay tuned
Indigenous communities won a major win for Amazonian rivers. After more than a month of protests, Brazil's govt reversed plans to privatize and dredge the river. Activists declared, “The river won" - celebrating a powerful stand against industrial megaprojects threatening their lands and waterways.
The EU watchdog found maladministration in how the Commission prepared the Omnibus I & CAP-related proposals. Are you an NGO or grassroot movement eager to know more? Join us to learn when & how to file a complaint to the Ombudswoman, and what to expect➡️ events.teams.microsoft.com/event/8e3762...
Remind our leaders what people want them to protect: clean air, safe water, and our health. Why? Because right now, they are handing out permits to poison our water, food, and nature. Don't let that happen. Sign our petition now and tell them to keep their #HandsOffNature: handsoffnature.eu
The Omnibus I was made in a rush to dilute the CSDDD/CSRD. The Commission was slammed by the EU Ombudswoman for it. Want to know the consequences for future omnibuses, transitioning companies and potential legal challenges? Join us online on 5 Feb 2026: ➡️ events.teams.microsoft.com/event/b992c4...
We kicked off the new year with a constructive exchange with Commissioner Kadis on the evaluation & delivery of the EU Common Fisheries Policy. The #CFP can help restore fish populations and strengthen marine ecosystems.
BREAKING: we are taking legal action against France for failing to protect seabirds from bycatch. 🎣🐦 With Sea Shepherd FR & Défense des Milieux Aquatiques, we want to ensure that they: a) Adequately collect data on bycatch. b) Implement required mitigation measures to reduce this hidden tragedy.
⚠️Today's unveiling of the new Envi #Omnibus & Grids Package confirms what we've been warning about for months: @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu Commission is dismantling decades of hard-won nature protections, putting air, water, and public health at risk in the name of competitiveness and streamlining.
This is the moment we either fight back or watch it all collapse. What we’ve built over the last decades to protect nature is being torn down fast. Pesticides back on our plates. Protections ripped away. Nature and water laws in danger. 👉 Go comment on @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu #HandsOffNature
