On the Commission delegated regulation of 3 November 2025 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1818 as regards the definition of prohibited weapons

B100502/2025

European Parliament resolution on the Commission delegated regulation of 3 November 2025 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1818 as regards the definition of prohibited weapons

(C(2025)3801 – (2025/2847(DEA))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission delegated regulation (C(2025)03801),

– having regard to Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts or to measure the performance of investment funds and amending Directives 2008/48/EC and 2014/17/EU and Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (1), and in particular Articles 19a and 49(6) thereof,

– having regard to Rule 114(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas Regulation (EU) 2016/2011 establishes EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks and EU Climate Transition Benchmarks with the objective of aligning capital markets with the Paris Agreement, by giving investors transparent, credible tools to shift portfolios onto decarbonisation pathways consistent with limiting global warming to well below 2 °C;

B. whereas, according to Regulation (EU) 2016/1011, it is of particular importance that such benchmarks do not significantly harm other environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives;

C. whereas the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts to supplement Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 by laying down the minimum standards for EU Climate Transition Benchmarks and EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks with a view to ensuring that the selection of the underlying assets is coherent with environmentally sustainable investments in line with ESG objectives;

D. whereas the restrictions set out in the Commission delegated regulation do not prohibit investment in the relevant activities, but merely prevent companies engaging in such activities from qualifying for the sustainable benchmark categories;

E. whereas, under the minimum standards set out in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1818, administrators of EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks and EU Climate Transition Benchmarks are required to exclude from those sustainable investment benchmarks companies involved in any activities related to controversial weapons;

F. whereas controversial weapons were defined with reference to weapons considered controversial in international treaties and conventions, United Nations principles and, where applicable, national legislation;

G. whereas that broad definition has been interpreted responsibly by benchmark administrators that have excluded from EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks companies active in nuclear weapons, depleted uranium, as well as other controversial weapons such as blinding lasers, non-detectable fragments and incendiary weapons;

H. whereas the Commission delegated regulation intends to replace the term ‘controversial weapons’ with the narrower term ‘prohibited weapons’; whereas that change restricts the scope of excluded weapon types to only four categories, namely anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions, biological weapons and chemical weapons; whereas those weapons are prohibited under international arms conventions to which a majority of Member States are parties and are listed in the relevant Annex;

I. whereas nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction subject to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which has been ratified by all Member States and which aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament;

J. whereas the proposed definition of ‘prohibited weapons’ is applied in a biased manner as nuclear weapons are not defined as prohibited weapons and listed in the Annex even though all Union Member States are parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) which prohibits non-nuclear-weapon states from acquiring or developing nuclear weapons;

K. whereas the new definition, by omitting explicit exclusions for highly controversial weapons such as nuclear weapons and depleted uranium, operates as an explicit eligibility criterion, unequivocally allowing companies involved in such activities to qualify for EU Climate Transition Benchmarks and EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks;

L. whereas such highly controversial weapons inflict severe, disproportionate and indiscriminate harm on civilians and the environment, causing long-term and irreversible damage well beyond the cessation of hostilities, and are therefore fundamentally incompatible with the principles of environmental sustainability, ESG objectives and any credible interpretation of alignment with the Paris Agreement;

M. whereas the Commission delegated act therefore creates immense greenwashing risks for climate-conscious investors who seek to align their portfolios with the objectives of the green transition, and reasonably expect that funds tracking EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks and EU Climate Transition Benchmarks exclude companies involved in activities related to nuclear and other controversial weapons;

N. whereas the Commission delegated regulation undermines the integrity and reputation of the EU sustainable finance framework; whereas it likewise cannot be justified on defence grounds, as the Union cannot credibly rely on nuclear and other highly controversial weapons for its security but rather must focus its efforts on closing the capability gaps outlined in the White Paper for European Defence - Readiness 2030, namely air and missile defence; artillery and long-range missile systems; ammunition and missiles; drones and counter-drone systems; military mobility; AI, quantum, cyber, and electronic warfare; and strategic enablers and critical infrastructure protection;

O. whereas any simplification effort must not result in the erosion of environmental and social standards; whereas the definition of prohibited weapons fails to even provide simplification or legal clarity, given that the prohibition depends on a majority of Member States adhering to international arms conventions, the scope of which is constantly evolving and requires ongoing monitoring;

P. whereas the EU sustainable finance framework cannot prohibit investment in the defence sector, as exclusions under sustainable finance rules merely determine what can qualify as ‘sustainable’ and do not amount to any prohibition on investors funding non-sustainable activities;

1. Objects to the Commission delegated regulation;

2. Calls on the Commission to submit a new delegated act that responds to the concerns raised above and clearly and unequivocally excludes companies active in nuclear weapons, depleted uranium and weapons referred to in the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its protocols such as non-detectable fragments, blinding lasers and incendiary weapons from all benchmarks carrying a sustainable label;

3. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and to notify it that the delegated regulation cannot enter into force;

4. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.