European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Commissioner Roswall's address at a Structured Dialogue with Members of the European Parliament's Committee for Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI) Brussels, 27 April 2026 Thank you, Chair (Pierfrancesco Maran), Honourable Members, Thank you for this opportunity to reflect on the past year and to outline my plans for the months ahead. Let me start with a c...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Commissioner Roswall's address at a Structured Dialogue with Members of the European Parliament's Committee for Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI) Brussels, 27 April 2026 Thank you, Chair (Pierfrancesco Maran), Honourable Members, Thank you for this opportunity to reflect on the past year and to outline my plans for the months ahead. Let me start with a comment on the world around us. We're meeting at a time of very high geopolitical uncertainty and volatility, rocked by real wars and trade wars. These events have highlighted just how exposed the EU is to high oil and gas prices and vulnerable supply chains. And how dependent we are on other countries for critical raw materials and oil and gas. There are clear lessons here for the EU. As we stated in our Communication adopted last week, we need to take short term measures in the energy field, but also double down on structural, transformative measures. I do of course speak about electrification, decarbonisation and scaling up renewables and clean homegrown energy. But our dependence on oil and gas is not limited to energy and fuels. Fossil fuel feedstock is also a significant source of input for a number of sectors – chemicals, plastics, fertilisers, textiles, to just mention a few. For this reason, we need to take concrete action towards a circular economy and to boost the EU's bioeconomy – both of which mean more resource efficiency, more strategic autonomy, more security and more competitiveness. The cheapest barrel of oil is the one we do not need. Last year, we started some of the groundwork – including measures to support plastic recyclers and the EU Bioeconomy Strategy. But we need to scale up our action. I am working full speed on the Circular Economy Act to strengthen the business case for circularity and remove single market obstacles for secondary raw materials. The second Biotech Act will build markets for bio-based materials. They show our determination to deliver this transition. Our collaboration in this Committee is vital if we are to manage the current geopolitical instability – and vital if we are to transition to a resilient and sustainable circular economy. So I want to thank you for your collaboration – and I look forward to its continuation. Now, I want to touch on some milestones from the past year. Let me start with an overarching priority – simple, effective rules that are easy to implement. On 19 March, the European Council reaffirmed its commitment to simplify EU legislation. We have, all three institutions, committed to advancing the Commission's simplification proposals, including the environment omnibus, before the end of 2026. And it's time that we deliver. I therefore encourage you to accelerate the work on our omnibus and environmental permitting, so that an agreement can be reached still this year. My colleagues and services are fully prepared to support you. We have prepared a balanced proposal to simplify without lowering standards, and I also call on the Parliament to take a responsible and balanced position on the environmental omnibus. I urge you to maintain your focus on reducing administrative burden and legal complexity. If we stick to that the agreement can be reached swiftly. I count on Parliament to support us on the simplification opportunities in the single market – let's get rid of the need to have authorised representatives in every country where a company is active. This is a clear and visible signal of simplification, and one of the Single Market Terrible 10 we identified last year. Still this week we will also publish a very targeted amendment to the Waste Shipment regulation to deal with the specific issue of waste management arising in border regions to Switzerland. This is a quick fix urgently needed by a number of regions to avoid disruptions and keep high standard, local waste management practices, and I urge you to adopt it quickly. Second – as you know, water resilience is a personal and political priority for me. It is also becoming a core aspect of our security and preparedness. No society or economy can function without water. And a broken water cycle will drive insecurity and conflict. Last June, we presented an ambitious Water Resilience Strategy and we are working hard on its implementation. Just last week I visited a wastewater treatment facility in Malta to speak with stakeholders on the ground and to witness innovation in action. And I have met with people across Europe – from farmers and industry to conservationists and civil society – to discuss water insecurity and how we can help. We have launched Structured Dialogues with Member States to discuss the implementation of our water rules. We are working with Member States and stakeholders to enhance water efficiency. And we are developing a Digital Action Plan that will harness the untapped potential of digitalisation to boost water security and efficiency. These are just some of the steps we're taking to protect and restore the very lifeblood of our society, environment, and economy. I also want to highlight the strategic importance of the water–energy nexus. Water is critical for energy production, with the energy sector accounting for 17% of total EU water abstraction, for example for cooling of power plants. This is a vital perspective in today's unstable world – and we need to keep it front and centre. In this context, we also need to balance water resilience with the clean transition and the critical raw materials we need for it. This means more recycling, but probably also more clean mining in Europe. We have consulted publicly on it, and will soon publish guidance and have started preparations for a targeted revision of the Water Framework Directive, building on stakeholders' input and experiences in Member States. We will pay particular attention to simplification and the need to address bottlenecks, while keeping our high water standards and protecting the environment and human health. And of course, water resilience is closely related to efforts to protect our seas and oceans. This was an important part of G7 discussions in Paris last week, and is a topic where we can still deliver meaningful solutions in a challenging multilateral context. My message to our partners was therefore clear. The implementation of the High Seas Treaty, or the BBNJ Agreement, remains a top priority for the EU. Third – on PFAS and chemicals. Ensuring human and environmental health, while boosting competitiveness and innovation, are at the very core of the European project. I have seen firsthand the cost of PFAS pollution in human health, in environmental damage and in economic losses. And citizens are very concerned about these forever chemicals accumulating in our bodies, in water, in nature. We owe it to children and future generations to address one of the biggest pollution problems of our time. And we owe it to our businesses to provide certainty and predictability on how PFAS can be used as safely as possible. The EU Chemical Agency, ECHA, is working full speed on this and I hope we will be able to put forward a restriction decision by the end of this year. As you know, focus will be on use of PFAS in consumer products. We are also continuing the work on PFAS clean-up. And to avoid pollution at source in the future, I am encouraged by the innovation taking place and the safe substitutes for PFAS that are being developed. Beyond that, with Stephane we have looked at a range of options to simplify and modernise the REACH Regulation. We have engaged with many of you and with stakeholders to understand what a balanced approach might look like, combining modernisation and better enforcement. That means addressing the uneven playing field for industry and simplifying overly complicated processes, while ensuring we are protected from harmful substances like endocrine disruptors and PFAS. Reflecting the discussions we have had with many of you and with many stakeholders and civil society, we have come to the conclusion to not open REACH at this point. At a point where we need certainty and predictability, that would not be helpful. Instead, we are looking into ways of simplification and modernisation by way of comitology. And we will put forward initiatives to improve enforcement regarding non-EU compliant products and substances, both at our borders and in terms of more effective market surveillance. Work on all of this is still ongoing, and I look forward to sharing more details soon. I want to end with a word on the core of our responsibility: the ecosystems which are the foundations for our economies, security – including food security - clean water and air and more. We are working hard on the coherent and cost-effective implementation of our nature directives. In March, the Commission published two guidance documents for national and regional authorities. First - on the protection and derogation provisions of the Birds Directive. This highlights the space for flexibility and improvement – while maintaining the ambition at the core of the Directive. And second -- guidance on Natura 2000 and climate change to help Member States adapt to the growing pressures of climate change. As we said in the omnibus package last December, we are now in the process of stress-testing the Nature Directives, as the Commission has committed to stress test the entire acquis during the mandate. We will soon start a public consultation on this, and will look in a balanced way at the legislation: does it achieve its objectives? Is it simple to implement? What can we do better? I do not know today what the outcome will be, but we do need to ask these questions together. When it comes to the Nature Restoration Regulation, it is a crucial part of our efforts to restore ecosystems, and I am committed to its implementation: With flexibility, support and guidance. Tailored to Member States' specific realities. And involving close coordination with national authorities and key stakeholders, like farmers and foresters. Dear Chair, Honourable Members, We have an ambitious agenda – from simpler rules to cleaner water to stronger ecosystems and more. Our success depends on close collaboration. So, in conclusion, let me assure you of my commitment to a continuous, open dialogue with stakeholders, civil society, and Member States. And, especially, with this house. So I thank you again for this opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead, and how we can meet them together. And I look forward to working with you to deliver on our shared, overarching goal: a healthier environment underpinning a resilient and prosperous society. SPEECH/26/897
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