07/03/2024 (Agence Europe) – The European directive empowering consumers to act in favour of the green transition through better protection against misleading commercial practices was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on Thursday 7 March. Spearheaded by MEP Biljana Borzan (S&D, Croatian), the main aim of this long-debated directive is to protect consumers from ‘greenwashing’ and premature product obsolescence - practices that will be banned as unfair commercial practices - and help them make more informed, sustainable purchasing choices (see EUROPE 13254/6). As a key measure of the directive, overly general and misleading generic product claims - such as ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘natural’, ‘biodegradable’ or ‘climate neutral’ - are banned without proof of recognised environmental performance. The directive will come into force on 26 March. See the publication in the Official Journal: https://aeur.eu/f/b79 (IS)