Guidance on applying the ‘do no significant harm’ principle under the 2028-2034 MFF

The document argues that the DNSH principle should be a binding eligibility requirement for EU funding rather than a general guideline, ensuring that no activity funded by the EU budget causes significant harm to any of the six environmental objectives. It calls for a strict interpretation of derogations, the creation of an explicit exclusion list—specifically including fossil fuels—and the implementation of transparent, independent assessment procedures to prevent the 'watering down' of environmental standards.

• The DNSH principle serves as a practical tool to operationalise the integration principle of environmental protection into EU policies, acting as a 'silo-breaker' that prevents progress in one environmental area, such as climate mitigation, from occurring at the expense of others like biodiversity or water resilience.
• ClientEarth recommends that compliance with the DNSH principle be established as a mandatory eligibility requirement for accessing EU funding, with verification occurring both ex-ante and during the implementation phase, supported by mechanisms for the suspension or recovery of payments in cases of non-compliance.
• The document argues for a strict and narrow interpretation of derogations from the DNSH principle. It specifically warns that 'security activities' must not be used as a justification for funding fossil fuels and that 'overriding public interest' should not exempt projects from DNSH assessments since such projects are by definition harmful.

APA

ClientEarth (2026). Guidance on applying the ‘do no significant harm’ principle under the 2028-2034 MFF. https://www.clientearth.org/media/dmljjwhl/clientearth-call-for-evidence-on-dnsh-guidance-april-2026.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Guidance on applying the ‘do no significant harm’ principle under the 2028-2034 MFF. 2026. https://www.clientearth.org/media/dmljjwhl/clientearth-call-for-evidence-on-dnsh-guidance-april-2026.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=Guidance on applying the ‘do no significant harm’ principle under the 2028-2034 MFF |date=April 2026 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/dmljjwhl/clientearth-call-for-evidence-on-dnsh-guidance-april-2026.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2026guidance, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Guidance on applying the ‘do no significant harm’ principle under the 2028-2034 MFF}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/dmljjwhl/clientearth-call-for-evidence-on-dnsh-guidance-april-2026.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }