New Commission floats first 'kill list' of green EU laws

(EurActiv, 14 Nov 2014) Outdated European Union rules on low energy appliances, such as dishwashers and refrigerators, are among a welter of green laws the new European Commission is proposing to review or scrap, according to an internal document seen by Reuters.

Eco-design and energy labelling directives sparked a media furore in Eurosceptic Britain, where newspapers seized on public indignation that the EU had issued legislation dictating how powerful vacuum cleaners should be. Vacuum cleaners were not mentioned in the document.

Some politicians and environmental campaigners accuse the Commission of bowing to populists and ignoring the economic and health benefits of saving energy and cleaning up the air.

In a letter addressed to their teams, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and First Vice President Frans Timmermans say that upcoming EU legislation should reflect their ambition to be "bigger and more ambitious on big things and smaller and more modest on small things".

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EurActiv, 14 Nov 2014: New Commission floats first 'kill list' of green EU laws