Written by Marc Lütz
Dear reader,
Welcome back to the Publyon Sustainability Newsletter. February has been marked by a series of high-level discussions in Brussels, Antwerp and beyond, with competitiveness firmly back at the top of Europe’s political agenda. Across industry summits and informal leader retreats, policymakers and business representatives have emphasised the need to move faster, reduce costs and reinforce Europe’s industrial base.
As this competitiveness-focused agenda takes shape, the scope and balance of the current policy debate are coming under closer scrutiny. In this edition, we examine how recent discussions have framed sustainability, circularity and the Green Deal, what this signals about evolving political priorities, and how these considerations may be addressed as the EU recalibrates its approach to industrial and environmental policy.
The spotlight
Competitiveness without sustainability
On 11–12 February 2026, Europe’s political and industrial leaders met in Antwerp and Alden Biesen under the banner of competitiveness. Here, the message from heavy industry was consistent and loud: Europe must act fast to stop deindustrialisation and make the EU more competitive again. In contrast, sustainability objectives and environmental safeguards were largely absent from these industry-led interventions and high-level political remarks during the meetings.
Debate over stakeholder balance at the Antwerp industry
On 11 February, at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, hosted by Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and chemicals lobby CEFIC, the focus remained firmly on regulatory relief, energy costs and the upcoming review of the EU Emissions Trading System. While Commission President Ursula von der Leyen framed the Clean Industrial Deal as a bridge between competitiveness and decarbonisation, she notably did not mention sustainability in her address to industry. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz went further, openly questioning whether instruments were still fit for purpose if they threatened industrial jobs, drawing applause from the room.
As industry leaders were given direct access to EU leaders, environmental NGOs, labour unions and citizen groups were excluded, leading to criticism that the summit had a lack of transparency. Over a dozen NGOs, including ClientEarth, EEB and Transparency International, issued an open letter warning that the Antwerp Declaration had become “a vehicle for dismantling the EU’s democratic safeguards” and accelerating deregulation at the expense of health, environmental and social protections.
Concerns ranged from the weakening of chemical regulation, including PFAS controls, to the growing influence of industry in EU policymaking. A senior policy officer at Transparency International EU highlighted that the chemical industry has “unparalleled access to EU decision-makers,”cautioning against fast-tracked legislation that sidelines inclusive and accountable governance.
Alden Biesen confirmed: competitiveness first, climate later
The focus on competitiveness continued at the informal European Council retreat in Alden Biesen on 12 February. Discussions centred primarily on Europe’s economic and industrial competitiveness, while references to sustainability, decarbonisation and climate policy were limited in the exchanges and reflected only marginally in the retreat’s conclusions.
European Council President António Costa repeatedly underlined that the energy transition remains “the best long-term strategy for Europe to achieve strategic autonomy and lower prices,” and framed the single market, investment and energy infrastructure as Europe’s “true superpower.” Leaders also agreed that growth, investment and innovation must be embedded in a broader social contract, and that strategic sectors such as clean tech would be central to Europe’s future competitiveness.
The retreat reaffirmed that Europe needs cheaper energy, more integrated markets and investment, but stopped short of concretely linking these issues to sustainability or sustainable practices, indicating that political momentum in Europe is emphasising competitiveness, increasingly leaving behind the goals of the Green Deal.
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Policy updates
EU tightens the rules on water pollution
On 17 February, the Council signed off on tougher EU standards to better protect rivers, lakes and groundwater from chemical pollution. The updated directive expands the list of monitored substances to include pharmaceuticals, pesticides, bisphenols and PFAS, while introducing stricter quality limits and, for the first time, an assessment of the combined effects of chemical mixtures.
To improve transparency and enforcement, Member States will strengthen monitoring and reporting — including effect-based monitoring and the use of remote sensing technologies. With nearly half of EU surface waters currently failing existing standards, the move signals a push to turn ambition into measurable water-quality improvements across Europe.
EU biodiversity progress reviewed ahead of the UN Biodiversity Conference
On 12 February, the European Commission published the EU’s 7th National Report on Biodiversity, assessing progress toward the 45 EU targets aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The report finds that the EU is on track to meet 16 targets, with two already achieved, but stresses that implementation must accelerate to deliver by 2030.
The assessment highlights the importance of turning existing legislation, including the Nature Restoration Regulation and the Water Resilience Strategy, into concrete results. It will feed into the global biodiversity review at CBD COP17 later this year.
EU adopts rules to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes
On 9 February, the European Commission adopted new measures under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) to prevent the destruction of unsold apparel, accessories and footwear. Large companies will be banned from destroying unsold textiles from July 2026, with medium-sized companies following in 2030.
The rules also introduce mandatory disclosure of discarded unsold goods and clarify limited exemptions. The move aims to reduce textile waste, cut emissions and accelerate the shift toward more circular and competitive business models in the EU.
Circularity needs systems that work: what the EPR debate tells us about the Circular Economy Act
At a Brussels Sustainability Club event on 18 February 2026, policymakers, industry representatives and Producer Responsibility Organisations converged on a shared diagnosis: Extended Producer Responsibility is indispensable for Europe’s circular transition, but its current design is struggling to deliver at Single Market scale. Speaking for the Commission, Luis Planas Herrera from the cabinet of Commissioner for a Competitive Circular Economy Jessika Roswall, described EPR as a central financing and implementation tool for circularity under the forthcoming Circular Economy Act (CEA), while acknowledging that fragmented national implementation has generated legal uncertainty, administrative burden and barriers to cross-border activity. The core political message was clear: circularity must reinforce the Single Market, and scale, enforceability and economic viability are preconditions for effective circular systems.
Discussions with industry and PROs highlighted complexity as a key obstacle to compliance, particularly for companies operating across multiple Member States and across product categories subject to different EPR regimes. Participants pointed to digitalisation and the concept of an EPR one stop shop as pragmatic avenues to reduce fragmentation in the near term, while cautioning against overly centralised or tax-like models that could undermine innovation and industry ownership. Overall, the debate signalled a shift from questioning whether EPR reform is needed to focusing on how it should be implemented, with the CEA expected to test whether the EU can deliver convergence and simplification without diluting circularity ambition.
Blog
EU Circular Economy Act: how will it shape the future of the EU and your business?
The EU Circular Economy Act aims to strengthen the Single Market for secondary raw materials, boost circularity, and enhance the EU’s competitiveness and resource security.
Read more
