EU member states push to strip back energy regulation red tape

EU member states have drafted a joint position calling for cuts to administrative requirements embedded in energy laws, per Reuters. The draft does not specify which directives are targeted by name, but the scope covers regulatory obligations that member states say are slowing investment and deployment across the energy sector.

The timing is notable. The push lands as the EU's Electricity Market Reform is being implemented and as permitting bottlenecks remain a live constraint for wind and solar build-out across multiple bidding zones. Member states appear to be using the current legislative cycle to renegotiate compliance loads before rules bed in fully.

In the UK, the government confirmed on 15 July 2025 that it is scrapping its planned green investment taxonomy, according to Reuters. The taxonomy was intended to define which economic activities qualify as sustainable for capital allocation purposes. Its removal leaves UK asset managers without a domestic classification standard, diverging further from the EU Taxonomy framework that applies across the continent.