The European Commission’s simplification agenda is much more than a technocratic exercise, which will boost the EU’s competitiveness by getting rid of obsolete or malfunctioning regulations. It is a political effort to appease the critiques both from within and from abroad. It is an attempt to satisfy the far-right anti-European voices that have by now joined forces with the US administration that, in its 2025 National Security Strategy, claims that the EU and its regulations are the largest threat Europe is facing. The problem the Commission is facing, and ultimately all European citizens, is that such a “simplification agenda” will most likely backfire because it won’t satisfy neither the citizens nor the markets.
Over the last couple of years, the Von der Leyen Commission has been supporting a deregulation agenda that is affecting multiple policy areas, including its previously two most important strategic choices. First, it has targeted her first-term flagship project, the New Green Deal, launched in 2019, aiming to cut emissions by at least 50% by the end of 2030. Second, it recently staggered the implementation of the 2024 AI Act, which is the most comprehensive legislation internationally promoting a risk-based approach to Artificial Intelligence and has made the EU a global rule-setter in this field.
Deregulation, simplification, and smart legislation with a positive impact for the economy and for European citizens is of course welcome, but it cannot be guaranteed unless it’s properly done. The context of the simplification strategy should be to preserve and defend European interests and values both in institutional and market terms.
In the last months of 2025, deregulation has been accelerated with the simplification of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). In November 2025, the Commission slowed down the implementation of the AI Act with the digital omnibus. Further, an easing of the 2035 ban on new internal combustion engine vehicles is expected after the announcement made by the Commission in mid-December 2025. What is impressive is that these regulations are new and there is still no proof that their dismantling will improve EU competitiveness. To the contrary, the over-simplification strategy is already undermining regulatory stability and may affect investors’ confidence. A regulatory delegitimization campaign pushed by the rising far-right parties in Europe, the US administration, and the big tech companies, among other lobbyists, seems to be changing the narrative in Europe against regulation at a very fast pace.
What is even more worrying is that this deregulation wave is targeting two sectors that are central in addressing two of the most urgent systemic risks that Europe and the globe are facing: climate change and AI.
Even worse, the protagonist of this dismantling is the European Commission, which up to now has been one of the strongest global supporters of action to limit the effects of climate change and to embrace AI by safeguarding citizens’ rights and keeping the societal effects of the transition in mind. The policies and regulations of the EU in these domains have been central not only for Europe but for all those countries and actors that are in agreement with the EU about tackling the challenges of climate and AI. Even if deregulation can bring some short-term economic benefits to industry, ease down European farmers' concerns about the green transition and momentarily satisfy the Trump administration and the big techs, the effects of climate change and the technology transition won’t go away. The increase in floods, fires, droughts, and species extinctions that we have been witnessing will exacerbate. The psychological, social, environmental, economic, and labour market effects of unregulated technological transition will increase. And then the citizens, the farmers, the entrepreneurs, and our real allies will be even more dissatisfied. And the question is, if Europe backslides, then who takes the driving seat?
The EU cannot afford to backslide for all the reasons mentioned above, and the European Commission should play its role as the guardian of the Treaties and of the European interest. Only if the EU stands tall and projects an even stronger narrative of Europe as a force for good and as a responsible global actor that defends core human values, puts citizens above money, and is willing to protect our planet and societies from systemic risks, does it have a chance to emerge as an independent pole in this new multipolar world. EU citizens believe that the EU can deliver, and the highest percentage of optimism (72%) is shared among the young (15-24 year-olds). Global allies closer and further away, such as the UK, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea, also exist and are willing to work with the EU. It is now that European leaders need to decide with a long-term strategic perspective in mind, further cooperate where needed and do so with renewed confidence and optimism.
Thanks for reading The Rethink series. All views expressed are the writer’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of ASRA, its members, or host organization, UN Foundation. Stay connected and keep exploring — discover more Rethink pieces suggested below and under “View” on the Events & News page.
