[CTC] Trump demands EU roll back digital and environmental rules

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Politico Europe

*ANOTHER TRUMP PEACE OFFERING: *At first, it was all about slashing red
tape in the name of reviving European industry and staying competitive
against rivals from China and the U.S. Now, it’s turned into yet another
strategy to appease the White House, which has made it clear that American
companies won’t play by European rules.

*Not playing along: *President Donald Trump has threatened to hike tariffs
on EU goods unless the bloc rolls back some digital and environmental rules
that apply to American companies.

That presents Brussels with a dilemma. If it bows to the U.S. pressure, it
risks ending up with strict regulations that only apply to European
businesses — potentially destroying their competitiveness. Conversely, if
it scraps the rules altogether, it abandons key priorities like digital
sovereignty and environmental protection.

*Ursula von der Leyen’s simplification push *is meant to get the best of
both worlds. The EU executive has already opened the door to loosening the
implementation of some of its rules.

*Kinder Egg strategy: *Just last week, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke
Rasmussen told POLITICO that Brussels’ deregulation drive isn’t just about
pleasing Trump — but about standing firm against Washington while pushing
its own rule-cutting drive.

“It’s like a Kinder egg. It serves more than one purpose,” Rasmussen said.
“We should go down that track in our own self best interest. But at the
same time, it also serves others’ interest as well.”

*Case in point: *The Commission on Tuesday dropped a plan to delay its
flagship anti-deforestation law by another year — instead announcing it
would reduce the paperwork needed to comply. Leonie Cater and James
Fernyhough have the story
<https://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=gaelle.cau@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fpro.politico.eu%2Fnews%2F206912/1/0102019a0a58ac4e-2a6a638b-8604-4b10-9909-faad36c41fff-000000/JL2ianOvfvFuiivPm1rr4Me08q0=449>
.

*More signaling: *Later this week, European leaders are set to agree to
task the Commission to speed up its work “as a matter of utmost priority,
on all files with a simplification and competitiveness dimension,”
according to draft conclusions obtained by POLITICO
<https://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=gaelle.cau@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fapi.politico.eu%2Feditorial_documents%2F393ef9f7-3552-405e-847d-6cfdafe4c4aa/1/0102019a0a58ac4e-2a6a638b-8604-4b10-9909-faad36c41fff-000000/yrEEfs-ej_YItid2tjErNAl9NPA=449>
.

*Systematic review: *Driving home that message, 19 EU leaders — including
Friedrich Merz of Germany, Emmanuel Macron of France, Giorgia Meloni of
Italy and Donald Tusk of Poland — have issued a pre-summit appeal for “a
systematic review of all EU regulations to identify rules that are
superfluous, excessive, or unbalanced.”

*Constant stream: *In a letter, obtained by POLITICO
<https://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=gaelle.cau@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fapi.politico.eu%2Feditorial_documents%2F0ca0f5da-ea43-4b1b-82a5-fda29587e0e5/1/0102019a0a58ac4e-2a6a638b-8604-4b10-9909-faad36c41fff-000000/Kr82LyZXYNuyqtAx64p5hLbMSQI=449>,
they also called on Brussels to dismantle outdated rules; demanded a
“constant stream” of simplification measures, and urged self-restraint when
it comes to new legislation.

Camille and Marianne have more in this story
<https://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=gaelle.cau@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fpro.politico.eu%2Fnews%2F206940/1/0102019a0a58ac4e-2a6a638b-8604-4b10-9909-faad36c41fff-000000/YFNmV0aLpVtV2rW8IdT1HoJKwFY=449>
.

*And there’s more: *Deregulation will also be a key component of the
Commission’s work in 2026, with the EU executive aiming to ax 25 draft
proposals
<https://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=gaelle.cau@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fpro.politico.eu%2Fnews%2F206920/1/0102019a0a58ac4e-2a6a638b-8604-4b10-9909-faad36c41fff-000000/a999mRbibgnwceENMC5Y_y_mmfQ=449>,
according to its new annual work plan presented Tuesday (more on that
below).

*Multi-purpose tool:* Asked whether this work program will be enough to
please an unpredictable Washington, Commissioner for Economics Valdis
Dombrovskis echoed Rasmussen and said the simplification drive can serve
multiple purposes. He visited the U.S. last week, where he spoke to his
counterpart, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

*To each his own: *After explaining to Bessent (once more) that the U.S.
and EU make their own laws for their own companies, Dombrovskis told
reporters in Strasbourg on Tuesday that aside from the EU’s competitiveness
interest the simplification “in parallel … also helps to alleviate certain
concerns on the U.S. side,” he said, mentioning the supply chain oversight
rules known as CS3D. “We also are limiting certain extraterritorial effects
on the application of CD3D, which are highly relevant for the U.S.”
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