Join Us: Protect People and the Planet from EU Deregulation

On Tuesday, 23rd September from 11am-12pm, Friends of the Earth Ireland is joining with our allies in the Irish Coalition for Business & Human Rights (ICBHR) outside Leinster House to stand up against the EU's dangerous ‘race to the bottom’ on human rights, workers’ rights, environmental protection and climate action. We're rallying to raise awareness of the EU Commission's rollback on key laws that safeguard people and planet, as well as to show solidarity with those marching in Brussels.

Key Laws at Risk

The EU Commission, under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen, has proposed a sweeping deregulation agenda that undermines vital protections. This includes:

• In the first round, Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD): A landmark law aimed at holding large corporations accountable for human rights and environmental abuses in their supply chains. The proposed cuts would water down these protections and reduce accountability for multinational corporations, who have often been the cause of global harm.
• Future deregulatory plans to directly attack nature, biodiversity, and the climate. The Environmental Pillar’s Hands Off Nature campaign highlights how the EU is moving to cut vital protections for ecosystems and wildlife, make it easier to pollute and erode the EU’s Green Deal.

These measures, according to experts, will have disastrous long-term consequences. By weakening environmental protections, we are putting our biodiversity, our climate goals, and our future at risk. We need stronger laws, not weaker ones, to ensure that Europe meets its climate goals and safeguards nature for future generations.

Our Allies are Marching in Brussels

While we take action here in Dublin, hundreds of campaigners have embarked on a three-day march from Maastricht to Brussels, gathering outside the EU headquarters to demand the protection of people and the planet.

We are part of the Irish Coalition for Business and Human Rights, a broad coalition of civil society groups, trade unions, and human rights organisations that are calling on the EU to stop the race to the bottom. Together, we’re fighting for stronger corporate accountability laws and for policies that put people before profits.

Why This Matters

The EU's deregulation agenda is not just an issue for Brussels—it’s impacting our daily lives. The ‘red tape’ challenge claims to reduce burdens for businesses, but in reality, it cuts vital protections for workers, citizens, and the environment. 

If the EU rolls back these laws, it will favour big corporations at the expense of vulnerable communities and ecosystems. As experts and economists have stated, we cannot afford to weaken these protections.

We Can’t Let Corporate Interests Win

We’ve seen the devastating effects of corporate exploitation and environmental destruction—from the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh to the pollution in the Niger Delta. These laws were introduced to stop such disasters from happening again. Now, as the EU rolls them back, we need to rise up and demand more, not less.

Campaigners warn that if these laws are weakened, we’ll see more environmental destruction, exploitation of workers, and human rights abuses. We cannot let the EU betray the people and the planet for the benefit of a few powerful corporations.