We hope you can join us in-person for our event 'The EU Simplification Agenda: The Future of the Environment at Stake' on Tuesday 22 September.
Event Details:
- Timings: Arrivals from 13:30, Opening at 14:00, reception at 18:00
- Venue: L42 Business Center & Workspaces, Rue de la Loi 42, 1040 Bruxelles
- This event is in-person only.
The current EU political agenda - labelled as “the simplification agenda” and led by the European Commission with the support of the majority of the European Parliament and of the Council - is creating real concerns among civil society stakeholders (including NGOs, scientists, judges, lawyers, academics, research centres and think tanks) and some industry actors in relation to the revision of protection standards for the environment, public health and democratic safeguards. It is hard to keep up with the pace at which the Commission is carrying out this legislative agenda and adopting “omnibus proposals” to revise some of the foundational pieces of EU environmental law. Unfortunately, this is not just about cutting red tape to make the EU’s industry more competitive: the substance of these pieces of legislation is clearly at stake.
Join our high-level panel discussions with some of the most prominent specialists on the topic to discuss the essential and multi-faceted role environmental law has been playing in safeguarding nature, public health, democratic accountability and providing legal certainty for industry while stirring innovation. We will also reflect and unpack the main “simplification” initiatives proposed so far and how we can react collectively and in our own sphere to ensure EU values are upheld and that our political and institutional systems remain democratic.
The event will close with a drinks reception.
Agenda
13:30-14:00: Welcome and Registration
14:00-14:10: Opening Remarks
Anaïs Berthier
Head of Brussels and Associate Director for Europe, ClientEarth
14:10-14:30: Keynote Speech
Karl Falkenberg
President EU Chapter Club of Rome, former Director General DG ENV
14:30-15:30:
Panel 1: Omnibus Proposals Unpacked: The Concrete Impacts of the Simplification Agenda – Asking Less of Industry
Tim Bleeker
Associate Professor in Corporate Climate Law, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Omnibus 1 – The Revision of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive
Martin Dermine
Executive Director, PAN Europe
The Food and Feed Omnibus
Basile Ghesquiere
Policy advisor to MEP Christophe Clergeau, S&D Group, European Parliament
The Chemicals Omnibus
Leonie Bühler
Environmental Policy Assistant to MEP Jutta Paulus, Greens/EFA in the European Parliament
The Environment Omnibus
15:30-16:30:
Panel 2: More Than Red Tape: The Role of Environmental Law in Our Societies –Driving Innovation by Protecting People and Planet
Áine Ryall
Chair of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee & Professor at University College Cork, Ireland
The role of environmental law in supporting democracy
Luc Lavrysen
Emeritus President of the Constitutional Court of Belgium & Emeritus Professor Environmental Law Ghent University
The Role of Judges in the Face of Increasing Environmental Litigation
Roos Van der Poel
Senior Legal Counsel, Greenpeace International
SLAPPs - What it Means and How to React
16:30-16:50: Break
16:50-17:50:
Panel 3: Who Holds the Line? Safeguarding EU Values and Our Democracy in Practice in a Context of Geopolitical Crisis
Emmanuelle Maincent
Member of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board, European Commission
Is the decision-making process of the European Commission still sound?
Alberto Alemanno
Jean Monnet Professor of EU Law, HEC Paris | Founder, The Good Lobby
What Does Europe Need to Revive the Brussels Effect?
Sebastian Bechtel
Lead of Environmental Democracy, ClientEarth
“Better Regulation” under strain, democracy at stake?
17:50-18:00: Closing Remarks
Anaïs Berthier
Head of Brussels and Associate Director for Europe, ClientEarth
18:00- 19:00: Reception and drinks
To encourage discussion and interaction, this event will be held exclusively in-person.
