A tug-of-war is currently under way in the European Parliament over a text aimed at easing pesticide legislation.
Faced with rules deemed too unfavourable to business development, the European executive wants to determine whether the legislative framework should be modified so that it remains effective while being simpler to apply.
Brussels wants in particular to speed up the granting of permits for renewable energy projects, mines for critical raw materials and the rollout of electricity grids.
This drive to simplify the laws that protect biodiversity in Europe worries environmental groups, which do not intend to stand by.
The Commission presents this revision as an exercise in clarity and efficiency, without the texts concerned having yet been rewritten.
These critical raw materials target rare and precious metals used to manufacture the semiconductors of artificial intelligence.
Environmentalists accuse the Commission of wanting to kill forty years of legislation protecting living organisms.
For two years the European administration has already undertaken a series of relaxations of its environmental rules, notably in the name of simplifying life for businesses.
European legislation judged too fussy has long been denounced by entrepreneurs who cannot develop their projects.