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FAQGreen ClaimsEU

EU Green Claims Directive proposal status FAQ

Parliament's Legislative Train record, updated 20 September 2026, marks Green Claims as blocked and says the 2026 work programme lists it as pending.

This page helps separate the Green Claims proposal from the already adopted Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition.

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Author
Sorena AI
Published
May 9, 2026
Updated
Oct 15, 2026
6 sections10 primary sources
Overview

The EU Green Claims Directive is not enacted. Parliament's Legislative Train record, updated 20 September 2026, marks the file as blocked and says the 2026 Commission Work Programme lists it as pending. Parliament adopted its first-reading position in March 2024, the Council approved a in June 2024, and two trilogues followed in 2025. The Commission announced an intention to withdraw on 20 June 2025 and the planned third was cancelled. An announcement is distinct from ; check the procedure record before relying on a changed status.

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6 of 6 questions
Question 1

What is the proposal status of the EU Green Claims Directive?

The Green Claims Directive exists as Commission proposal COM(2023) 166 for a directive on substantiation and communication of explicit environmental claims. The Commission published it on 22 March 2023 under 2023/0085(COD).

Parliament's 20 September 2026 Legislative Train record marks the file as blocked, and its 2026 work-programme summary lists it as pending. Earlier tracker checks on 25 July 2026 used different labels: EUR-Lex said ongoing and OEIL said awaiting the Council's first-reading position. Record the date and type of each source rather than treating these labels as final adoption or . There is no adopted Green Claims transposition or application deadline.

  • Commission proposal: COM(2023) 166 final, published on 22 March 2023.
  • Procedure reference: 2023/0085(COD), .
  • Two trilogues took place in 2025; withdrawal intention announced on 20 June and third cancelled on 23 June.
  • Latest Parliament summary checked: 20 September 2026 update, captured 15 October 2026; blocked status and pending work-programme listing.
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Keep Green Claims status language current

Use the official procedure record before describing the proposal as adopted, withdrawn, or subject to final compliance dates.

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Question 2

What happened in 2025?

Parliament's Legislative Train records the first on 28 January 2025 and the second on 24 April 2025. On 20 June, the Commission announced an intention to withdraw the Green Claims proposal. Parliament then reported that the Council cancelled the trilogue scheduled for 23 June.

Describe each event separately. The co-legislators began negotiations, the Commission announced an intention to withdraw, and the planned third was cancelled. The current official procedure trackers do not record either final adoption or .

  • 28 January 2025: first .
  • 24 April 2025: second .
  • 20 June 2025: Commission withdrawal-intent announcement.
  • 23 June 2025: third cancelled by the Council.
Question 3

What happened in the European Parliament?

The European Parliament adopted its first-reading position on the Green Claims Directive proposal on 12 March 2024.

Record this as Parliament adoption of its negotiating position. It did not complete adoption of the EU act.

  • Parliament document: P9_TA(2024)0131 / T9-0131/2024.
  • Date: 12 March 2024.
  • Status wording to use: Parliament first-reading position, not final adoption.
Question 4

What did the Council approve?

The Council approved a for the Green Claims Directive at the Environment Council meeting on 17 June 2024. The Council document is a negotiating position showing changes against the Commission proposal.

The Council is a negotiating position, not an adopted final directive. It can show the Council's negotiating direction but cannot establish final legal deadlines.

  • Council document: ST 11312/24.
  • Date: 17 June 2024.
  • Status wording to use: Council , not final act.
Question 5

How should teams talk about Directive (EU) 2024/825?

Directive (EU) 2024/825 is already adopted and related, but it is not the Green Claims Directive proposal itself. The Council describes the Green Claims proposal as complementing Directive (EU) 2024/825 by adding specific rules for explicit environmental claims, environmental labelling schemes, substantiation, communication, and verification.

Keep the instruments separate: Directive (EU) 2024/825 is adopted, Member States had to transpose it by 27 March 2026, and they must apply those measures from 27 September 2026. The Green Claims Directive remains the unadopted proposal tracked under 2023/0085(COD).

  • Use Directive (EU) 2024/825 for the adopted empowering-consumers rules and its 27 September 2026 application date.
  • Use 2023/0085(COD) for Green Claims Directive proposal status.
  • Do not merge the two into one adopted Green Claims act.
Question 6

Which proposal-status claims should teams avoid?

Avoid saying that the Green Claims Directive has final adopted deadlines, final transposition dates, or a final application date when those facts are not present in the cited sources. Draft and Council texts may contain bracketed timing markers or proposal-stage timing, but those are not final-act deadlines.

Do not turn the June 2025 announcement into a completed legal event. The official sources support saying that the Commission announced an intention to withdraw and that the third was cancelled. The procedure trackers checked on 25 July 2026 do not record a .

Treat this status as a dated snapshot. Recheck EUR-Lex and OEIL before publishing a deadline, compliance statement, contract clause, or board paper. A recorded withdrawal, Council first-reading position, renewed interinstitutional negotiation, co-legislator adoption, Official Journal publication, or a new Commission proposal would require a new status analysis.

  • Do not publish final Green Claims transposition or application deadlines from proposal-stage text.
  • Do not claim adoption of a final Green Claims Directive from Parliament first reading or Council alone.
  • Do not claim unless a later official procedure source records it.
  • Retain the date checked, both tracker labels, the source URLs, and a copy or citation of the institutional event that changed the status.
Primary sources

References and citations

OEIL procedure file 2023/0085(COD)
oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu4 citations
Referenced sections
  • Legislative Observatory status source for the Green Claims ordinary legislative procedure.
  • Parliament's Legislative Observatory lists the file as awaiting the Council's first-reading position; this differs from EUR-Lex's broader ongoing label but likewise does not record adoption or formal withdrawal.
  • OEIL lists the Parliament decision at first reading and the related procedure status.
Show 1 more
  • OEIL records Parliament's first-reading step and provides the procedure file; compare any captured stage wording with the separately cited 2025 events.
"Awaiting Council's 1st reading position"
More quoted passages
"Decision by Parliament, 1st reading"
Council general approach on the Green Claims Directive
data.consilium.europa.eu3 citations
Referenced sections
  • Council source for the 17 June 2024 general approach and Council negotiating text.
  • The Council document states that the general approach text was approved at the 4032nd Environment Council meeting on 17 June 2024.
  • The Council text frames the Green Claims proposal as complementing Directive (EU) 2024/825 for explicit environmental claims and labels.
"General approach"
More quoted passages
"complement the requirements"
EUR-Lex procedure 2023/0085(COD)
eur-lex.europa.eu3 citations
Referenced sections
  • EUR-Lex procedure source for COM(2023) 166 and institutional steps.
  • EUR-Lex tracks the Green Claims file as procedure 2023/0085(COD) and lists the procedure type and institutional steps.
  • EUR-Lex tracks the procedure as ongoing and lists Council discussions rather than a completed adopted final act.
"Ongoing"
COM(2023) 166 final Green Claims Directive proposal
eur-lex.europa.eu2 citations
Referenced sections
  • Commission proposal source for the Green Claims Directive file and proposal-stage framing.
  • EUR-Lex identifies the file as the Commission proposal for a directive on substantiation and communication of explicit environmental claims.
"Proposal for a DIRECTIVE"
Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition
eur-lex.europa.eu2 citations
Referenced sections
  • Related adopted consumer-law directive that should be kept separate from the Green Claims Directive proposal status.
  • Binding text for the separate empowering-consumers amendments, including the 27 March 2026 transposition deadline and 27 September 2026 application date.
"empowering consumers for the green transition"
More quoted passages
"They shall apply those measures from 27 September 2026."

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