Simplify or dismantle: when the EU turns rights into bureaucracy

Brussels speaks of simplification, but what is brewing is a fundamental political transformation. In the name of competitiveness and efficiency, the European Commission and several member states are promoting a comprehensive review of the rules protecting social, environmental, and digital rights. Beneath a technical veneer lies an ideological agenda: to portray democratic guarantees as an obstacle to growth.

One prime example is the first Simplification Package, which drastically cuts due diligence and sustainability reporting obligations. Under the guise of easing the administrative burden, it exempts most European companies from reporting their environmental and social impact and allows them to stop investigating abuses in their supply chains. What is presented as "streamlining procedures" is actually a historic step backward in transparency and corporate accountability.

The argument is as old as it is false. The so-called European competitiveness crisis does not stem from the existence of laws, but from factors such as a lack of public investment, deindustrialization exacerbated by decades of austerity and public disinvestment, and the abandonment of common fiscal policies. While other global players combine innovation with massive public spending and strategic planning, the European Union seems to be seeking its economic recovery by weakening its own rule of law.

In this context, regulations have become the perfect scapegoat. Germany, for example, has advocated eliminating human rights impact assessments in the application of the Artificial Intelligence Regulation and limiting the application of the GDPR to companies considered "low risk." Under the guise of reducing bureaucracy, these proposals erode the very heart of the European model: the idea that progress must be subject to ethical and legal limits.

The language of simplification is seductive because it promises clarity, but what it conceals is a concentration of power. When people call for "eliminating redundancies" or "streamlining procedures," what they are usually really seeking is to weaken controls, shift responsibilities, and favor those who already have the resources to influence regulations. It is a form of neoliberal recentralization that confuses rights with bureaucratic procedures, and the protection of the public interest with an administrative obstacle.

Civil society is observing this trend with growing concern. Organizations that defend the environment, digital rights, or social justice face an increasingly hostile environment: budget cuts, exclusion from consultation processes, and, in some countries, smear campaigns and outright witch hunts. The paradox is clear: while corporate groups are given preferential treatment, those who represent collective interests are silenced.

Simplify cannot mean dismantleThe real problem in Europe is not excessive regulation, but rather a lack of enforcement, economic inequality, and political capture by those who confuse competitiveness with deregulation. Europe will not regain its strength by abandoning its founding principles, but by reaffirming that rights are not an administrative luxury, but the very condition for any lasting prosperity.