Informal Summit on Competitiveness: "EU governments bow to Trump's agenda of deregulation" (NGOs)

"Greenpeace accuses EU governments of undermining democracy, bowing to the Trump agenda of deregulation and taking instructions from corporate lobbies", declares the NGO on 12/02/2026, while an Informal Summit of the Council, focusing on competitiveness, takes place in the Castle of Alden Biesen (Belgium), gathering Antonio Costa, the head of Member States and Ursula von der Leyen.

"This cosy castle get together is not about competitiveness or the EU market - it’s about turning Europe into a deregulation El Dorado, where big corporations can recklessly plunder our democracies and environment", says Magda Stoczkiewicz, Greenpeace EU programme director.

"The EU Commission has been echoing the narrative from industrial laggards that loosening environmental and social protections will boost its industrial competitiveness. On the contrary, strong environmental laws have historically delivered legal certainty, driven innovation and rewarded early movers", explains the European Environmental Bureau.

"The beginning of the year has been marked with new deregulation plans", outlines Chiara…