"It has taken decades to fight for our protection laws. Let's not allow them to be quietly abolished because conservative parties - such as the European People's Party, the sister party of the CDU/CSU - want to exploit the majority situation to abolish good and important protection standards." Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V.1Hands off nature conservation! 🌐 https://www.duh.de/mitmachen/handsoffnature/
Open letter to the EU Commission
Plenary Chamber of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: envato /baspentruba Editorial use
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
As a committed EU citizen, I would like to express my clear rejection of all efforts to weaken existing environmental and nature conservation laws or to water them down for purely economic interests. Especially now, when the effects of the climate crisis and the extinction of species are becoming ever clearer, a strong legal framework for nature conservation is more urgent than ever2Hands off nature conservation! 🌐 https://www.duh.de/mitmachen/handsoffnature/ .
There are major deficits in implementation and monitoring both at EU level and in the member states. In many places, environmental protection laws are not sufficiently monitored and violations are rarely and usually not consistently sanctioned. The existing weak legal situation is already preventing effective intervention - a further watering down of these laws would be tantamount to the creeping dismantling of our nature conservation. This also contradicts the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and massively jeopardises all European climate targets 3UNFCCC: The Paris Agreement 🌐 https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement 4 EU Commission: Report on the implementation of EU environmental law 2025 🌐 https://germany.representation.ec.europa.eu/news/bericht-zur-umsetzung-von-eu-umweltrecht-den-27-eu-staaten-veroffentlicht-2025-07-07_de 5 EU Commission sees major implementation deficits in environmental law (EIR report) 🌐 https://www.euwid-recycling.de/news/politik/eu-kommission-sieht-grosse-umsetzungsdefizite-im-umweltrecht-100725/ 6 NABU: EIR report and funding gaps - funding gap of €122bn/year; climate targets at risk 🌐 https://blogs.nabu.de/naturschaetze-retten/eir-report/ 7 Tagesspiegel: Plans insufficiently aligned with EU climate targets - report by the European Court of Auditors 🌐 https://www.tagesspiegel.de/wirtschaft/plane-unzureichend-auf-eu-klimaziele-abgestimmt-europaischer-rechnungshof-sieht-bei-nationaler-eu-agrarpolitik-defizite-12463808.html .
Concrete, current examples of the failure of environmental legislation, where decisive intervention at EU level would have been necessary but failed to materialise:
- Deforestation by large corporations such as IKEA, Poco, ...: The last European primeval forests in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia are being destroyed for "fast furniture" - often despite clear sustainability violations 8Fast furniture - short-lived furniture and its downsides 🌐 https://www.verbraucherzentrale.nrw/wissen/umwelt-haushalt/nachhaltigkeit/fast-furniture-kurzlebige-moebel-und-ihre-schattenseiten-109738 9 Greenpeace: Clear-cutting instead of sustainability at IKEA 🌐 https://www.greenpeace.de/biodiversitaet/waelder/waelder-erde/ikea-kahlschlag-urwald-nachhaltigkeit 10 Furniture turnaround: Stop fast furniture - a destructive trend 🌐 https://moebelwende.org/2021/09/10/fast-furniture-warum-wir-diesen-zerstoererischen-trend-dringend-stoppen-muessen/ .
- Deforestation by large corporations such as Amazon, Zalando, ...: Large areas of primary forest are destroyed for cheap shipping boxes instead of using recycled materials 11 Greenpeace: Europe's primeval forests cut down for cardboard 🌐 https://greenpeace.at/petitionen/urwaelder-norden/ 12 Greenpeace: Sweden's forests end up as packaging waste 🌐 https://www.greenpeace.de/biodiversitaet/waelder/waelder-erde/schwedens-waelder-enden-verpackungsmuell-hellofresh-zalando 13 pro.earth: Primeval forests as disposable cardboard boxes 🌐 https://pro.earth/2025/02/07/urwaelder-als-einwegkartons/ 14 Greenpeace: Amazon, HelloFresh & Zalando linked to forest destruction 🌐 https://presseportal.greenpeace.de/237579-amazon-hellofresh-und-zalando-in-verbindung-mit-waldzerstorung/ .
- Poisoning and overexploitation of natural resources, for example through water abstraction and groundwater pollution by international corporations such as Nestlé15 Foodwatch: Water scandal - Nestlé has apparently been cheating for decades 🌐 https://www.foodwatch.org/de/wasser-skandal-nestle-betruegt-offenbar-schon-seit-jahrzehnten 16 Foodwatch: Mineral water scandal - raid at Nestlé after Foodwatch complaint 🌐 https://www.foodwatch.org/de/mineralwasser-skandal-razzia-bei-nestle-hauptsitz-nach-foodwatch-klage 17 Foodwatch: Mineral water fraud - foodwatch sues Nestlé 🌐 https://www.foodwatch.org/de/mineralwasser-betrug-foodwatch-verklagt-nestle 18 Labournet: Who owns the water? Multinational corporations such as Nestlé are increasingly accessing municipal water sources (with Foodwatch background) 🌐 https://www.labournet.de/internationales/frankreich/politik-frankreich/wem-gehoert-das-wasser-multinationale-konzerne-wie-nestle-greifen-verstaerkt-auf-kommunale-wasserquellen-zu/ .
- Heating of rivers by nuclear power plants, especially in France: negative consequences for biodiversity and water quality19 Solarify: Nuclear power plant throttled because rivers are too warm - danger for flora and fauna 🌐 https://www.solarify.eu/2025/07/01/hitzewelle-in-frankreich-atomkraftwerke-wegen-zu-warmer-fluesse-gedrosselt/ 20 Handelsblatt: French nuclear power plants heat river water above limits - environmental organisations warn of consequences for fish populations 🌐 https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/energie-trockenheit-und-fehlende-energie-alternativen-frankreichs-atomkraftwerke-ueberhitzen-fluesse/28588994.html 21 Tagesschau: France and Switzerland - Nuclear power plants shut down because rivers are too warm 🌐 https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/atomkraftwerke-hitze-kuehlung-abgeschaltet-100.html 22 Euronews: Nuclear power plants may discharge more warm water in summer - danger for the ecological balance 🌐 https://de.euronews.com/2022/07/19/akw-frankreich-warmes-wasser .
- Killing primates for no good reason - such as the case of the twelve baboons at Nuremberg Zoo 23 paddys.de: Nuremberg - Dag Encke has 12 baboons shot 🌐 https://paddys.de/nuernberg-dag-encke-laesst-12-paviane-erschiessen/ 24 paddys.de: Baboons in the crosshairs 🌐 https://paddys.de/paviane-im-fadenkreuz/ 25 paddys.de: Euthanasia at Nuremberg Zoo 🌐 https://paddys.de/euthanasie-im-tiergarten-nuernberg/ 26 German Animal Welfare Association: Baboon killing - breaking a taboo in Nuremberg 🌐 https://www.tierschutzbund.de/ueber-uns/aktuelles/presse/meldung/pavian-toetung-tiergarten-nuernberg-begeht-tabubruch/ 27 BR: Killed baboons - animal welfare influencer raises accusations 🌐 https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/getoetete-paviane-tierschutz-influencer-erhebt-schwere-vorwuerfe .
- Cruel and sometimes illegal live animal transports within and outside the EU: violations of animal welfare regulations, e.g. documented by Animals' Angels28 Animals' Angels: Animal transport in the EU - causes and problems 🌐 https://www.animals-angels.de/projekte/tiertransporte/europaeische-union.html 29 Animals' Angels: Animal transport to non-EU countries 🌐 https://www.animals-angels.de/projekte/tiertransporte/eu-exporte.html 30 New dossier from Animals' Angels and Animal Welfare Foundation: Animal transport to non-EU countries 🌐 https://www.animals-angels.de/neuigkeiten/beitrag/neues-dossier-von-und-animals-angels-und-animal-welfare-foundation-zum-thema-tiertransporte-in-nicht-eu-laender-veroeffentlicht.html 31 Animals' Angels: Our documentaries on animal transport (with reports as PDF) 🌐 https://www.animals-angels.de/publikationen/dokumentationen.html .
- Contamination of nature conservation areas by neighbouring agriculture 32 NUL-online: Spatial analysis of arable land use in nature conservation areas - high risks due to pesticide and fertiliser input 🌐 https://www.nul-online.de/themen/artenschutz-und-biotopverbund/article-7117792-201984/raumanalyse-der-ackerbaulichen-flaechennutzung-in-naturschutz-und-ffh-gebieten-in-deutschland-.html 33 German Environment Agency: Pesticide use in nature conservation areas hardly legally restricted - insufficient protection 🌐 https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/themen/pestizideinsatz-in-naturschutzgebieten-kaum 34 European Commission: EU target - ban on pesticides in protected areas planned 🌐 https://germany.representation.ec.europa.eu/news/europaischer-gruner-deal-weniger-chemische-pestizide-umfassende-renaturierung-2022-06-22_de 35 Greenpeace: Pesticides - a danger for bees and the environment, even in protected areas 🌐 https://www.greenpeace.de/biodiversitaet/landwirtschaft/anbau/pestizide .
- State subsidies for climate-damaging animal products instead of sustainable support for plant-based nutrition 36 Direct payments - overview for 2025, Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture 🌐 https://www.landwirtschaftskammer.de/foerderung/hinweise/direktzahlungen.htm 37 GAP: What will change in 2025, LWK Lower Saxony, status 2025 🌐 https://www.lwk-niedersachsen.de/lwk/news/41988_GAP_Was_aendert_sich_2025 . At the same time, farmers who grow animal feed also benefit from direct payments from the first pillar38 EU agricultural funds: promotion and structural payments 🌐 https://www.agrarzahlungen.de/agrarfonds/eu-agrarfonds 39 The CAP 2023-2027: New rules, but focus remains on meat & co. 🌐 https://www.dvs-gap-netzwerk.de/foerderung/gemeinsame-agrarpolitik-der-eu-2023-2027/die-gap-2023-2027/ . Subsidies are also indirectly increased through tax breaks and reduced VAT on meat and dairy products, although environmental authorities - such as the Federal Environment Agency - have long been calling for these benefits to be cancelled40 Federal Environment Agency: Why meat is too cheap 🌐 https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/themen/warum-fleisch-zu-billig-ist 41 taz: Study on subsidies for the livestock industry - €13 billion annually in animal-based food 🌐 https://taz.de/Studie-zu-Subventionen-fuer-Viehbranche/!5755760/ 42 GEO: 13 billion euros a year for the animal industry - criticism from the Federal Environment Agency 🌐 https://www.geo.de/natur/nachhaltigkeit/billiges-fleisch-studie-deutschland-foerdert-die-tierindustrie-mit-30423746.html .
- Reintroduction and use of pesticides containing glyphosate, contrary to scientific recommendations 43 Tagesschau: Glyphosate is still authorised in the EU until at least 2033 - risks for biodiversity and health 🌐 https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/glyphosat-310.html 44 Federal Environment Agency warns of risks: Glyphosate promotes species extinction and endangers soil and water 🌐 https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/themen/uba-kritisiert-uebermaessigen-einsatz-von-glyphosat 45 DUH: Dangerous for the environment & health - German Environmental Aid takes legal action against glyphosate authorisation 🌐 https://www.duh.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/pressemitteilung/gefaehrlich-fuer-umwelt-und-gesundheit-deutsche-umwelthilfe-klagt-gegen-zulassung-von-neuem-glyphosat/ 46 DNR: Criticism of glyphosate assessment - large data gaps, many studies industry-funded 🌐 https://www.dnr.de/aktuelles-termine/aktuelles/kritik-glyphosat-bewertungsprozess-und-gesellschaftliche-kosten-der 47 taz: Environmentalists go to EU court over glyphosate 🌐 https://taz.de/Zulassung-des-umstrittenen-Pestizids/!6051820/ .
- Animal suffering for online reach, such as endangering and "saving" animals for clicks on Facebook and TikTok - is neither prosecuted by the platforms nor penalised by law enforcement agencies 48 Why you shouldn't watch these videos 🌐 https://youtu.be/ld2fD74WEKU 49 ZDF: Fake Rescues - The business with animal suffering (2025) 🌐 https://www.zdf.de/dokumentation/die-spur/fake-rescues-tierrettung-social-media-100.html 50 GEO: Staged rescues on social media: How animals suffer for likes - SMACC report and WTG statement 🌐 https://www.geo.de/natur/tierwelt/inszenierte-tierrettungen-auf-social-media–wie-tiere-fuer-likes-leiden-35114424.html 51 FOUR PAWS: Cruelty to animals on the internet is often not deleted 🌐 https://www.vier-pfoten.de/unseregeschichten/publikationen/tierquaelerei-im-internet 52 WTG petition: Stop cruelty to animals online! - YT and Facebook often don't delete at all 🌐 https://www.tierschutz-austria.at/unterstuetze-uns/petitionen/petition-stoppt-tierquaelerei-im-netz/ 53 stern: Cruelty to animals for clicks? There should be no room for this on the net 🌐 https://www.stern.de/panorama/wissen/tierquaelerei-fuer-klicks–dafuer-sollte-kein-platz-im-netz-sein-35201106.html .
- Return to fossil fuels in Germany: fracking gas from Lake Ammersee and offshore drilling off Borkum 54 ZDF: Gas test drilling on Lake Ammersee causes controversy - risks for nature and drinking water 🌐 https://www.zdfheute.de/politik/deutschland/bayern-gas-ammersee-energie-100.html 55 BR: Gas drilling in Reichling: Protest with Luisa Neubauer 🌐 https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/gasbohrung-in-reichling-protest-mit-luisa-neubauer 56 Süddeutsche Zeitung: 60-metre banner calls for gas drilling at Ammersee to be stopped 🌐 https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/rohstoffe-60-meter-banner-fordert-stopp-der-gasbohrung-am-ammersee-dpa.urn-newsml-dpa-com-20090101-250911-930-24100 57 Stern: Natural gas drilling off Borkum may begin - environmentalists protest in vain 🌐 https://www.stern.de/wirtschaft/news/gasprojekt-in-der-nordsee–erdgasbohrungen-vor-borkum-duerfen-beginnen-36018180.html 58 Borkum: Fridays for Future protests against gas drilling 🌐 https://www.evangelisch.de/inhalte/247256/05-09-2025/borkum-fridays-future-protestiert-gegen-gasbohrungen 59 DUH: Immediate enforcement ordered for gas drilling off Borkum - a fatal signal 🌐 https://www.duh.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/pressemitteilung/deutsche-umwelthilfe-zum-angeordneten-sofortvollzug-fuer-gasbohrungen-vor-borkum-fatales-signal-geg/ .
- Cancellation of subsidies for renewable energies, cancellation of wind power expansion, cancellation of PV subsidies, construction of new gas-fired power plants 60 today 19:00 from 15.09.2024 Energy transition, NRW local elections, Munich Synagogue reopened 🌐 https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/verbraucher/glyphosat-eu-erneute-zulassung-100.html 61 Deutschlandfunk: Reiche wants to cancel subsidies for new small solar systems 🌐 https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/reiche-will-foerderung-fuer-neue-kleine-solaranlagen-streichen-100.html 62 pv magazine: Subsidies for new photovoltaic systems on the table 🌐 https://www.pv-magazine.de/2025/08/11/reiche-stellt-solarfoerderung-fuer-neue-photovoltaik-anlagen-zur-disposition/ 63 Handelsblatt: Reiche puts energy subsidies to the test 🌐 https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/energie-reiche-stellt-energie-foerderungen-auf-den-pruefstand/100155304.html 64 ZDF: Reiche on the energy transition: Avoid over-subsidisation 🌐 https://www.zdfheute.de/politik/deutschland/reiche-energie-wende-erneuerbare-gas-interview-100.html 65 Time Online: End of solar subsidies - energy transition without electricity from the roof 🌐 https://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2025-08/ende-solarfoerderung-photovoltaik-einspeiseverguetung-katharina-reiche .
All these exemplary cases show that the existing legal situation is too weak, controls are too patchy and sanctions are far too rare. Further weakening is absolutely the wrong approach.
I would like to emphasise that regulatory requirements are not an unreasonable burden. On the contrary, they are the basis for clean water, healthy air and food security. They guarantee our standard of living and safeguard our natural heritage for future generations.
Many of the EU's major environmental successes - such as the recovering populations of certain endangered species or improved water quality - are thanks to the existing regulatory framework 66Hands off nature conservation! 🌐 https://www.duh.de/mitmachen/handsoffnature/ .
Rivers, lakes and wetlands in Europe are among the most threatened ecosystems. It is essential to preserve and fully implement the existing laws of nature - not to weaken them.
Stop deforestation, protect our waters and drinking water resources, and strengthen Europe's natural heritage, wildlife and flora alike, through uncompromising implementation and effective control of existing laws.
Finally, I would ask you for an answer. As a tax-paying EU citizen, I see this as my right.
With kind regards
Patrick Ruppelt
On the egg meadow 20
82031 Grünwald
Germany
E-mail: post@paddys.de
Am I hoping for an answer? Nope. But you want to have tried. How depressing.
Cover picture: Berlaymont building of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: iStock by Getty Images / Alexandros Michailidis editorial use.
