Understanding EU Legislation
There are two key concepts in understanding how the EU makes legislation: regulations and directives.
A regulation is a general law that applies to all EU countries. It's a binding act that every country must comply with. A directive is a legal act that sets a minimum standard for EU member states. Each member state must then enact their own laws or regulations within a two-year period to at least comply with the minimum requirements of the directive.
This means that there are both EU-wide and national laws that fashion brands will need to comply with.
EU bodies
The European Union's institutional set-up is unique and its decision-making system is constantly evolving. Seven European institutions, seven EU bodies and over 30 decentralised agencies are spread across the EU. Then, there are a 20 EU agencies and organisations which carry out specific legal functions with four inter-institutional services in support of the institutions. All of them have specific roles -- from developing EU laws over implementing policies to working on specialist areas such as health, medicine, or transport.
Then, there are four main decision-making institutions which lead the EU's administration. These institutions collectively provide the EU with policy direction and play different roles in the law-making process.
The EU's legislative process
The EU legislative process involves the proposal of legislation by the European Commission which is then reviewed and potentially amended by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
If the latter two agree on the text after a dialogue phase (which can span several years) the legislation is adopted. A regulation becomes binding across all EU member states directly without the need for national transposition and enters into force 20 days after its adoption. Following the adoption of a Regulation, Delegated Acts can be developed.
Delegated Acts are secondary laws that specify or amend non-essential elements of the original legislation allowing for adjustments or details (e.g. to certain industries) to be added without going through the full legislative process again.
Both Directives and Regulations go through the EU legislative process involving the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. Once adopted their paths diverge since directives must be transposed by each member state into its national law by a given deadline.
The European Green Deal
The European Green Deal aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. To do so, it established environmental goals and targets serving as the foundation for directives and regulations that are continually being introduced.
Among its primary objectives are significant reductions in net greenhouse gas emissions, targeting a minimum decrease of 55 per cent by 2030 as compared to the levels recorded in 1990.
Within the European Green Deal, there are two concrete plans pertinent to understanding current and upcoming climate legislation.
EU Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP)
The CEAP is a cornerstone of the European Green Deal: comprising 35 specific actions, it places a spotlight on the textiles sector which is recognised as one of the most resource-intensive industries within the EU. It introduces an array of initiatives that are crafted to establish circular economy practices and curtail waste generation.
EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles
To meet the goals of the European Green Deal and CEAP, the EU has a strategy for textiles: The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles aims to transform the entire lifecycle of textile and footwear products by increasing longevity, using more recycled fibers, reducing fast fashion, and facilitating repair and recycling with a Digital Product Passport.
The below chart presents a structured overview of the EU Green Deal's key legislative components and their interconnections.The EU Green Deal branches into the CEAP and the Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, leading to specific directives and regulations with amendments and revisions to existing laws.
The various proposals and initiatives presented in the chart are at different preparatory and/or legislative phases and for several there will still be consultations with stakeholders and necessary impact assessments to determine the exact scope and concrete measures.
To get an overview of the strategy and the planned implementation, the European Commission has published the comprehensive Transition pathway for the textiles ecosystem, centralising all information regarding the textile industry.