In preparation for the Spring European Council, European Environment Ministers held an exchange of views on Tuesday, 5 March on the environmental aspects of the 'European Semester', a budgetary exercise that began with the Commission’s publication of the 2019 Annual Growth Review linking structural reforms to investment.
All agreed that the main challenge for the future of ensuring sustainability is to ensure that investments provide social benefits to EU citizens and do not directly or indirectly harm the environment.
Many ministers stressed the importance of undertaking structural reforms to enable the EU's transition to a circular, low-carbon and sustainable economy. They recognized that these reforms must be accompanied by public and private investment. Hence the need to create incentives to encourage sustainable private investment.
The criteria for all financing to be sustainable and environmentally friendly: this is all the Environment Council wants, considering the European Parliament/EU Council political agreement of 25 February on the proposal for a regulation creating a new category of benchmark indices to help investors compare the carbon footprint of investments as a major step forward (see EUROPE 12202).
Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella told ministers that the 2019 cycle creates significant opportunities. “For the first time the Commission is including a clear link between the challenges of structural reforms and sectoral investment needs in the different Member States. We have ensured tailor-made and appropriate environmental investments in areas such as water, air and water infrastructures for the Member States to consider in the preparation for partnerships for post-2020 programming”, he said at the end of the session.
He also recalled that the EU's 2021-2027 budget proposal for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) aims to put in place national strategic plans that should also allocate resources to tackle environmental challenges (such as indicators for air emissions and the proper implementation of the NEC Directive) and greater integration of nature protection and biodiversity into Member States' investment plans. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)