Beyond disclosure: Why the EU’s green strategy is coming apart

By all appearances, Europe is doubling down on its green ambitions. But scratch the surface, and a different picture emerges: a continent obsessed with process over outcomes, clinging to disclosure frameworks while sidestepping the harder structural reforms that would actually reduce emissions or improve competitiveness. The recent EU-US tariff deal and the retreat from key Green Deal measures should be understood not as isolated policy choices, but as symptoms of a deeper incoherence in Europe’s economic and climate strategy.

Calls to preserve sustainability disclosure rules often rest on the belief that transparency improves capital allocation and strengthens long-term competitiveness. This logic holds in theory. But in practice, the assumption that disclosure alone leads to better outcomes – for investors, the environment or society – is a category error. It mistakes the provision of information for meaningful action.

Apostolos Thomadakis  is Research Fellow and Head of the Financial Markets and Institutions Unit at CEPS, and Head of Research at ECMI. This commentary was originally published by CEPS on August 25, 2025.