“Don’t throw nature under the bus”: NGOs deliver citizens’ messages to Commissioner following OmniBus tour

A striking red, open-top double-decker bus – emblazoned with the slogans “Stop the OmniBus” and “Drive Action for Nature” – rolled through the EU quarter today in a highly visible protest organised by the #HandsOffNature campaign. The stunt was a response to the European Commission’s deregulation drive, warning of a dismantling of environmental  laws under the guise of “simplification”.

After the tour, NGOs handed over nearly 200,000 messages that citizens sent to the European Commission in just 10 days opposing the deregulation of EU nature laws to Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall.

Representatives of the #HandsOffNature campaign coalition, led by BirdLife Europe, ClientEarth, the European Environmental Bureau and WWF EU, said:
“People all over Europe are watching – and they do not want environmental protections quietly stripped away behind closed doors. Our clean water, our fresh air, and our nature are not red tape – and we need the European Commission to stand by these laws, not gut them.”

European Commissioner for Environment Jessika Roswall received the citizens’ submissions in the form of a symbolic tree.

In the middle of summer, the European Commission had quietly launched a Call for Evidence to gather feedback on reducing administrative burdens within environmental legislation. While framed as part of ongoing efforts to cut red tape for businesses, all of Europe’s largest environmental NGOs have sounded the alarm that this “simplification” agenda could come at a great cost for environmental protections.

The OmniBus toured the European quarter, hosting journalists, NGO representatives and speakers including a Belgian farmer, a forest scientist, a Professor of EU law, an activist and an MEP for informal discussions.