Inquiry opened into how European Commission actions urgent legislative proposals

Article summary

The European Ombudsman has opened an investigation into how the European Commission handles 'urgent' legislative proposals, such as the revision of the EU's Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). This follows concerns raised with the Ombudsman, which questioned how the Commission prepared the CAP proposal and whether the Commission had properly assessed if the changes affected the long-term environmental sustainability of EU agriculture. The investigation will also consider how the Commission examines if its proposals are consistent with the climate-neutrality goals of the European Climate Law. The European Ombudsman has requested that the Commission responds to a series of questions, which ask if the Commission has internal procedures for deciding on bypassing impact assessment requirements for urgent legislative proposals and how it observes the principle of evidence-based decision-making in these circumstances. The Commission has until 16 December 2024 to respond.