EU policy process & CDR advocacy guide

EU legislation is adopted primarily using the ordinary legislative procedure, which always starts with a legislative proposal from the European Commission. This procedure gives equal power and contributions to the European Parliament and the European Council (which represents Member States). However, the influence of the three institutions varies significantly over the life cycle of a policy file. Understanding when each institution holds the most power is essential for effective advocacy.

The European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the EU and is where all policy files are born. It is the sole initiator of EU legislation and drafts proposals for new laws. It proposes new legislation and evaluates the potential economic, social, and environmental consequences of new initiatives through impact assessments. The Commission is the penholder and exerts influence before legislation is proposed, as it frames what the policy entails.   

The Commission is composed of 27 Commissioners, one from each Member State, each overseeing a specific policy area. The Commission is supported by 33 Directorates-Generals (DGs), which are organised by policy field. While Commissioners provide the political leadership and strategic direction of the Commission and are each responsible for one or more DGs within their portfolio, the DGs themselves carry out the substantive policy work including preparing, drafting, and managing legislative proposals. The most relevant actors in practice are therefore the DGs, and specifically the unit within the responsible DG that leads on drafting the legislative proposal.

Relevant DG’s and units for CDR advocacy are:

DG CLIMA (Climate Action)

• A.1 – Strategic Coordination Legal and Institutional. Oversees European Climate Law procedure and legal drafting.
• B.1 – ETS (I): Responsible for EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) regulation and carbon pricing mechanisms.
• C.3 – Low Carbon Solutions (III): Oversees Carbon Removal and Certification Framework (CRCF) and industrial carbon management.
• E.1 – Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change. Focuses on nature-based solutions specifically for climate resilience.

DG RTD (Research and Innovation) – Focus on research & innovation on carbon capture/removal technologies.

• B.3 – Climate and planetary boundaries
• C.2 – Clean energy transitions

These DGs work less directly on CDR but are important to engage with where industrial, energy, agriculture, or funding policies intersect with CDR.

• DG ENV (Environment)
• DG GROW (Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs)
• DG ENER (Energy)
• DG AGRI (Agriculture and Rural Development)
• DG BUDG (Budget)

The European Parliament

The European Parliament represents the interests of EU citizens and is a co-legislator with the Council of the EU. The Parliament debates and votes on legislative proposals. It consists of 720 MEPs organised into 8 political groups (EPP, Renew, S&D, the Greens, PfE, the Left, ECR, ESN), who are elected every 5 years by EU citizens.

The Parliament is structured into over 22 thematic committees, each composed of MEPs from various political groups. Committees are the primary engine of Parliament’s legislative work, drafting positions on legislative proposals and appointing the negotiating teams that conduct talks with the Council. The ENVI (Environment) and ITRE (Industry/Energy) committees lead on most CDR files.

When a legislative file is assigned, a rapporteur from the leading committee drafts the Parliament’s opinion, supported by shadow rapporteurs from other political groups. Engaging with this network early ensures that your advocacy priorities are understood before formal amendments are tabled.

The Council of the European Union

The Council of the EU is a co-legislator with the European Parliament, amending or rejecting legislative proposal from the Commission. The Council is comprised of national ministers from each EU country, meeting in configurations based on policy areas, for example, environment, agriculture, finance.  In practice, much of the Council’s preparatory work is carried out by Member States’ Permanent Representations to the EU (Perm Reps), which are based in Brussels. These representatives coordinate national positions and prepare the ground for formal ministerial decisions.Each legislative proposal works its way through three levels of Council scrutiny. It is first examined by working parties; these are technical groups made up of national experts and Perm Rep officials. It then moves to COREPER (the Committee of Permanent Representatives), where senior Perm Rep diplomats resolve outstanding political issues and prepare the file for formal adoption. Finally, it reaches the relevant Council configuration of ministers, who take the formal decision.

The Presidency of the Council of the EU rotates among Member States every six months with each country setting its own legislative priorities for its term. The Presidency chairs working party and COREPER meetings, brokers compromises between Member States, and represents the Council in trilogue negotiations with the European Parliament. As of January 2026, the Presidency is held by Cyprus, followed by Ireland starting in July 2026.

(Note: The Council of the EU is not to be confused with the European Council, which gathers MS heads of state and government and steers the EU’s political direction)

Before a law is drafted, the EU establishes its political and technical direction through several key instruments. Identifying these early allows advocates to weigh in on the Commission’s drafting process, providing evidence and feedback to support the proposal.

• Commissioner mission letters: These are sent by the Commission President to individual Commissioners at the start of the five-year mandate. They establish priorities for the five years (e.g. 2024-2029) and indicate which topics are likely to become legislative proposals or reviews.
• Commission work programme: An annual planning document published every October that lists the specific legislative and non-legislative initiatives the Commission intends to present in the following year. It is the primary tool for timing advocacy interventions.
• High-level strategy documents: These are non-binding policy papers that outline the Commission’s long-term vision for a specific sector. They establish the official evidentiary base and political “mood” that justify future laws. For example, publications such as the Industrial Carbon Management Strategy (ICMS) set overarching goals and priorities.
• Stakeholder consultations and calls for evidence: These are formal feedback mechanisms where the Commission invites input from businesses, NGOs, or experts. These allow stakeholders to provide technical evidence and signal potential risks or benefits, directly shaping the scope and definitions of the eventual proposal.

Steps to take during pre-legislative period

Evidence-based advocacy

Closed-door advocacy

Public outreach

Carbon Gap Policy Tracker tips

• Use the Carbon Gap Policy Tracker to filter files by status. Prioritise files in the “Announced” stage for early-intervention briefings and “Public Consultation” for technical data submissions

• Check the What’s on the horizon and Timeline sections of a specific file to align your outreach with upcoming milestones.

• The Policy Tracker helps identify the lead DG and responsible unit as soon as a file appears at the announcement or communication stage. For advocacy, this phase is a signal to form positions and prepare an advocacy strategy before the formal drafting begins.

Once the pre-legislative phase concludes, the Commission synthesises input it has received across all channels into three key documents:

• The legislative proposal: The actual draft law (Regulation or Directive).
• The impact assessment: The supporting research detailing why this specific policy path was chosen.
• The communication: A strategic cover letter explaining how the law fits into broader EU goals (for example, the Green Deal).

The ordinary legislative procedure (OLP) is the EU’s primary decision-making process, with the European Parliament and the Council acting as equal co-legislators. Formally, the procedure can involve up to three readings. At the First Reading, the Parliament and Council each adopt and exchange their positions. At the Second Reading, they review and, where necessary, amend the other institution’s position. If agreement is still not reached, a Third Reading (conciliation) is convened to negotiate a joint text. In practice however, most agreements today are reached at the First Reading or early Second Reading through informal trilogue negotiations.

Phase 1: Adoption of Commission proposal

Once the Commission formally adopts a proposal, it is transmitted simultaneously to the Parliament and the Council. At the same time, an eight-week feedback period is opened via the Have Your Say portal, allowing stakeholders to comment on the adopted legal text. At this stage, the Commission has exercised its right of initiative, and the legislative process moves to the co-legislators who may amend, approve or reject the proposal. The Commission then acts as a facilitator during negotiations between Parliament and Council, helping to steer discussions and safeguard the core objectives of the original proposal. In EU climate policy, the Commission’s legislative proposals are mainly in the form of a Regulation or Directive. These two types of laws have different aims and enforcement:

Regulation: 

• Directly applicable in all EU Member States.
• Enters into force on a specified date without needing national implementation.
• Ensures uniformity across the EU.
• Examples of regulations are the CRCF regulation and the Net Zero Industry Act.

Directive: 

• Sets goals and minimum requirements that all Member States must achieve but is not directly applicable.
• Provides countries a choice on how to implement it, but it must be transposed it into national law.
• Allows for flexibility in how objectives are met at the member state level.
• Examples of directives are the EU ETS Directive, the Carbon Capture and Storage Directive, and the Green Claims Directive.

Steps to take during the Commission proposal phase

Closed-door advocacy

Public outreach

Carbon Gap Policy Tracker tips

• Consult the Nutshell and Deep Dive sections of the policy entry to understand what the proposal aims to do, what it means for CDR and what could be improved to help scale carbon removal.

• Check the Timeline to see when the proposal was formally transmitted to the Parliament. This date marks the start of the Rapporteur appointment process and defines your primary window for initial meetings.

Phase 2: Parliament and Council negotiations

The Parliament and the Council work in parallel to define their negotiating mandates; as the Parliament develops its First Reading position, Member States in the Council seek a General Approach that sets the basis for inter-institutional negotiations.

Parliament

The file is assigned to a lead committee (e.g. ENVI or ITRE) and additional committees may be asked to provide an opinion and adopt amendments within their remit. The committee chair manages proceedings, sets the agenda, and steers the committee’s work. A rapporteur is appointed to lead and draft the Parliament’s report. Other political groups appoint a shadow rapporteur, who follows the file, proposes  and negotiates amendments to the draft, and represents their group in compromise negotiations. While the lead committee holds primary responsibility, amendments adopted by committees for opinion can shape political momentum and influence the lead committee’s negotiations.

The process begins with a preliminary public debate where MEPs voice initial reactions to the Commission’s proposal. The rapporteur then publishes a draft report setting out their proposed amendments to the Commission proposal. This draft is the first official parliamentary text proposing changes to the legislation. Draft reports are published on the Legislative Observatory (OEIL); analysing these reports is an important step in identifying priorities and gaps that may require further advocacy.

Following publication of the draft report, the drafting stage begins, opening a defined deadline for amendments. During this period, any member of the responsible parliamentary committee may propose amendments to the text. The Rapporteur and Shadow Rapporteurs then enter negotiations to consolidate these proposals into a smaller set of compromise amendments, which reflect agreed positions across political groups.

The process concludes with a committee vote on the compromise package, which establishes the European Parliament’s formal position and negotiating mandate before the file proceeds to Plenary.  Plenary sessions involve the gathering of MEPs to give a final vote on the proposed legislation. The committee and Plenary votes can be monitored live via the Parliamentary web streaming service.

Council 

The Council works in parallel with the Parliament, examining the proposal as soon as it’s published by the Commission. Unlike the Parliament, the Council does not operate through a visible legislative track, often being referred to as a black box in EU decision making.

Decision making in the Council follows a three-stage procedure. Firstly, the examination of the proposal takes place at working party level, where national experts from the Member States analyse the text at a technical level. Unresolved political issues are then brought to the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), composed of Member State ambassadors. Once political agreement is reached in COREPER, the file is submitted to the relevant Council configuration, where ministers formally adopt the Council’s position.

The Council develops its position in parallel with the European Parliament. However, it can formally adopt its first-reading position only after Parliament has delivered its own position. The Council may accept Parliament’s position, leading to adoption at the First Reading, or adopt a different position and return the file to Parliament for the Second Reading. At the second reading, the Council considers only the Parliament’s amendments. If all are accepted, the act is adopted; if not, the file proceeds to conciliation.

Steps to take during Parliament and Council negotiations

Closed-door advocacy

Public outreach

Carbon Gap Policy Tracker tips

• Use the What’s on the Horizon section of a policy entry to see the current stage of the file, follow political developments, and note relevant upcoming deadlines. You can also search specifically for files that are under negotiation.

• Check the policy entry of active files to quickly find the lead committee, rapporteur, and shadow rapporteurs.

Phase 3: Interinstitutional negotiations/ trilogue

Once the European Parliament and the Council are sufficiently advanced in their positions, they may enter into trilogue negotiations to seek a compromise. Trilogues are informal tripartite meetings on legislative proposals between representatives of the European Parliament, the Council, and the European Commission. Their purpose is to reach a provisional political agreement on a text that is acceptable to both co-legislators.

On the Parliament side, trilogues involve a negotiating team consisting of the chair of the responsible committee and the rapporteur and shadow rapporteurs from participating political groups. On the Council side, trilogues are conducted by representatives of the Presidency of the Council of the EU who steer discussions and facilitate consensus between Member States.

Trilogues are chaired by the institution hosting the meeting (alternating between Parliament or Council), with the Commission acting as an honest broker to facilitate compromise between the co-legislators. If a provisional agreement is reached in trilogue, the agreed text is submitted separately to the European Parliament and the Council for formal approval.

Steps to take during the trilogues

Closed-door advocacy

Note: At this stage, negotiating teams are operating under intense time pressure, so communication should be concise, targeted, and actionable

Public outreach

Carbon Gap Policy Tracker tips

• Check the file’s timeline and the What’s on the Horizon sections to see the trilogue stage and follow ongoing political developments.

Phase 4: Adoption

• Formal approval: The European Parliament and Council formally vote to approve the agreed text.
• Adoption and publication: The adopted text is signed by the Presidents of the European Parliament and Council and published in the Official Journal of the EU, making it legally binding.
• Entry into force: For a Regulation, the law becomes applicable on the date specified in the text or, if no date is specified, 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal. For a Directive, Member States are given a deadline by which they must transpose the provisions into national law.

Once the directive or regulation enters into force, the Commission monitors compliance and effectiveness. This monitoring is supported by reporting obligations, expert groups, and the adoption of delegated and implementing acts. Many EU laws include review clauses, requiring the Commission to assess whether the legislation is delivering its objectives and to report back within a defined timeframe. Reviews may identify implementation challenges, unintended impacts, or changes in political, economic, or technological circumstances. Based on the outcome of a review, or in response to new policy priorities, the Commission may propose amendments to existing legislation or introduce new legislative proposals, restarting the legislative cycle. Consequently, EU climate legislation can be revisited, strengthened or revised over time, even after formal adoption.

Post-legislative instruments

• Delegated Act: These are non-legislative acts used to supplement or amend certain elements of EU legislation. The Commission adopts delegated acts under delegation from the EU Parliament and Council; they are subject to review or objection by Parliament and Council before entering into force. For example, CRCF delegated acts define carbon removal methodologies.
• Implementing Acts:These acts set uniform operational conditions for how Member States implement legislation and report data.

• Reviews: Many laws have a mandatory review (for example, every 5 years) to evaluate how Member States are doing, identify any areas that need to be addressed, and raise ambition. For example, the ESR and LULUCF will be reviewed in 2026.

Commission expert groups

To support the development and implementation of EU legislation, the European Commission relies on Commission expert groups, which provide technical advice and expertise throughout the policy cycle. Expert groups gather expertise from multiple sources and may include representatives of Member States, industry, NGOs, academia, and independent experts. Their role is to provide targeted, mandate-driven technical input in the form of opinions, recommendations and reports. The expert group stage represents one of the highest-leverage moments for technical advocacy. In climate policy, the adoption of a Regulation, such as the CRCF Regulation, is only the starting point. Many of the practical and politically significant rules, including certification methodologies for activities such as DACCS, BECCS or biochar, are developed later through delegated acts. The Commission is legally required to consult relevant expert groups when drafting these acts.

Steps to take during the post-legislative phase

Advocacy action points

Carbon Gap Policy Tracker tips

• Review files currently under amendment and monitor the What’s on the horizon section for each file to identify upcoming reviews and implementing acts.

After adopting its 2030 climate target and enshrining climate neutrality by 2050 in the European Climate Law, EU policymakers recognised the need for an intermediate target to provide clarity for long-term infrastructure and industrial decarbonisation.

The proposal for a 2040 climate target emerged to address this gap by aiming to provide certainty to markets, guide public and private investment, and keep the EU on a credible pathway to climate neutrality. For Carbon Gap, it was clear that the revision of the European Climate Law would influence how carbon dioxide removals were defined, governed, and integrated into EU climate architecture. Engaging in this process was essential to ensure that removals complemented rather than substituted ambitious emissions reductions, and that policy was designed to provide long-term signals to develop a sustainable carbon removal industry in Europe.

Below are the steps carbon gap took in its efforts to ensure CDR was include in the EU Climate Law revision.

Responded to public consultation: Carbon Gap submitted its response to the public consultation on the 2040 climate target in June 2023, outlining the risks of relying on a single net target without distinguishing between emissions reductions and different categories of carbon removals.

Member State outreach: We exchanged early views with Member State ministries and Perm Reps on the 2040 target and what it means for carbon removal to understand positions on the ground and share Carbon Gap’s thinking on the topic. 

Issued a press release: In February 2024, alongside the Commission Communication on the 2040 target, Carbon Gap published a press release highlighting how the proposed framework lacks the necessary technical specificity and regulatory breadth to fully scale the CDR sector

Conducted independent research: To address the 2040 Impact Assessment’s failure to define separate targets and its narrow focus on only two removal methods, Carbon Gap partnered with the VTT Technical Research Centre to produce independent modelling. This work demonstrated the need for a diversified portfolio of carbon removals and the application of the like-for-like principle.

Developed an advocacy strategy: Carbon Gap outlined a detailed advocacy strategy to engage key institutional actors, expand the policymakers understanding of CDR beyond DACCS, BECCS, and carbon farming, and push for the inclusion of Carbon Gap’s recommendations in the forthcoming proposal.

Engaged policymakers and stakeholders: During this period, Carbon Gap met with policy advisors in the European Commission and European Parliament, as well as national climate ministries from ten Member States. These meetings aimed to present Carbon Gap’s vision for the Climate Law revision and to better understand emerging institutional and national positions.

Published opinion pieces: Carbon Gap published a blog post in June 2023 highlighting the importance of carbon removal for the 2040 target, and another blog post in January 2025 explaining why Europe needs separate targets for emissions reductions and carbon removals. These opinion pieces helped move the discussion beyond technical circles and into the broader policy narrative.

Issued a press release: When the Commission published the proposal in July 2025, Carbon Gap published a press release highlighting the proposal’s key shortcoming: the omission of separate targets for emissions reductions, permanent carbon removals, and land-based sinks.

Published a policy brief: On the same day, Carbon Gap presented a policy brief outlining findings from the modelling work, demonstrating that separate targets for carbon removals in the 2040 framework are both feasible and necessary to reach EU net-zero with integrity.

Published an op-ed: Carbon Gap’s Climate Law policy lead authored an op-ed highlighting the role of CDR in reaching net-zero and the urgency of embedding it clearly in the EU policy framework.

Engaged with Commission units: Carbon Gap conducted targeted outreach to Commission Cabinets and relevant officials in DG CLIMA to discuss the proposal, present modelling results, and highlight missing technical elements.

Coordinated with allies: Carbon Gap coordinated with other NGOs working on carbon removal, including through joint meetings with Commission policymakers, to present a consistent and reinforced set of advocacy messages.

Drafted and shared amendments: Carbon Gap drafted amendments to the proposals text to prompt the co-legislators to:

• Define the distinct contributions of gross emissions reductions, permanent removals, and temporary removals towards the target;
• Recognise the need for permanent removals incentives beyond the EU ETS integration;
• Set clear guardrails on the use of international credits.

These amendments were shared with national ministries, Perm Reps, APAs of rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and other MEPs.

Engaged with perm rep attachés and national government representatives: Carbon Gap continued bilateral engagement with national climate ministries and Permanent Representation attachés to present modelling results, outline core advocacy asks, and gather intelligence on emerging political sticking points.

Responded to the proposal feedback consultation: Carbon Gap submitted feedback to the consultation on amending the Climate Law, reiterating modelling results and specifying changes required in the legislative text to support the scaling of carbon removals in Europe.

Ran social media campaign: Carbon Gap ran a LinkedIn campaign tracking developments on the 2040 target file, reinforcing its modelling findings and key advocacy messages.

The highly politicised nature of the Climate Law revision led to the European Council being consulted to provide a mandate for Environment Ministers to adopt the Council’s final position. The European Parliament subsequently adopted the ENVI Committee’s amendments, which largely aligned with the Council’s agreed target and compromises. As a result, the text was agreed in a single trilogue.

On 10 February 2026 the European Parliament approved the agreement to amend the European Climate Law, setting a binding 90% emissions reduction target for 2040 versus 1990. Although separate targets were ultimately not included in the agreed text, it does confirm a role for carbon removals in the 2040 target. The specific scale and types of carbon removal will be outlined in the implementation package expected at the end of the 2026.

Once a major file like the 2040 Climate Target is adopted, the work shifts from shaping the high-level law to influencing the technical implementation package. This phase is critical because it determines how the broad targets function in practice.

Monitoring the implementation package: Following the adoption of the 2040 targets, the Commission launched a large-scale implementation package on February 9, 2026, including public consultations on national targets and the rules for international credits.

Influencing the post-2030 framework: Carbon Gap is actively contributing to the Commission’s consultation on the post-2030 climate framework.