taz says the EU greenwashing rule is 'in force'; Der Standard says Austria still has to write it into law

The split. taz, in Berlin, headlines: "Neue EU-Richtlinie in Kraft" — a new EU directive in force. Der Standard, in Vienna, opens: "Österreich muss eine EU-Richtlinie umsetzen" — Austria must transpose an EU directive. One reads the rule as live. The other reads it as not yet in national law.

What it demands. taz says anyone who advertises with terms like "klimaneutral" (climate neutral) will have to prove it. Der Standard says the directive is meant to stop greenwashing and consumer deception. It does not spell out a duty to prove claims.

The grace period. Only Der Standard carries a three-year transition period for products. Only Der Standard quotes anyone: Greenpeace, which criticises that period.

What is not settled. Neither report names the directive or the EU institution that adopted it. Neither says when Austria's law will pass, or whether Germany has already transposed it. We do not know what date the three years run from. We do not know whether taz's "in force" means the rules now bind companies in Germany. We hold only the opening lines of each report, and the full articles may say more.

What this is about. A European Union rule against misleading green advertising, such as claims that a product is "climate neutral", and when it actually starts to bind companies.

How it got here. The Union makes law in two main forms. A regulation applies directly in every member state the day it takes effect. A directive does not. It sets a goal and a deadline, and each of the 27 member states must pass its own national law to meet it. That step is called transposition. Until a country transposes, companies there generally answer to national law, not to the directive.

The European Commission proposes directives. The European Parliament and the Council of the EU, where member-state governments sit, amend and adopt them. The Commission can take action against a state that transposes late, and the Court of Justice of the EU can rule against it.

In 2024 the Union adopted a directive that amends its consumer-protection law to curb vague environmental claims. It gave member states until March 2026 to transpose it and set 27 September 2026 as the date the new rules apply. Neither report we hold names the directive, so we cannot confirm this is the text both papers mean. But the date matches.

Who is involved. The Union institutions, which wrote the rule. National governments and parliaments, here Germany's and Austria's, which must turn it into domestic law. Companies that market products as green. Consumer and environmental groups, such as Greenpeace, which want the rule to take effect quickly.

What is at stake. If the rules apply now, a firm advertising "climate neutral" without proof is exposed today. If a country has not transposed, or its law grants long transition periods, the same claim may stay on shelves for years. So the same directive can mean different things in Berlin and Vienna.

Where it stands. taz reports the directive as in force. Der Standard reports that Austria still has to transpose it, with a three-year transition for products.