The ambitions of the Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs, Katri Kulmuni, and the Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications, Sanna Marin, in the European Parliament's Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE) on Tuesday 23 July on climate objectives were not unanimously supported by MEPs.
Broadly speaking, an East-West geographical divide emerged, similar to that at the European Council, where four Eastern Member States opposed a climate neutrality objective set at 2050 (see EUROPE 12279/2). And for good reason. This objective is clearly at the top of the priorities of the Finnish Presidency (see EUROPE 12286/8) and was hammered home by the two Finnish ministers during their speeches.
The Finnish wishes were generally welcomed by MEPs. However, many MEPs wondered, on the one hand, about the concrete action plan that the Presidency would put in place, following the example of Henna Virkkunen (EPP, Finland) and, on the other hand, about taking into account the specific geographical characteristics, particularly in terms of energy mix, of the different Member States.
On the latter point, several MEPs from Central and Eastern Europe expressed their concern about the impact that these climate objectives would have on their economies, as did Martina Dlabajová (RE, Czech Republic), who questioned whether SMEs should be taken into account, or Robert Hajšel (S&D, Slovakia). The latter expressed concern about the additional energy costs of these measures, which would weigh on the economies of the Eastern States, before raising the benefits of nuclear energy. Grzegorz Tobiszowski (ECR, Poland) also denounced the green taxes introduced. The far right, through Paolo Borchia (ID, Italy), called for traditional energies to receive the same subsidies as renewable energies.
On the Western side, on the other hand, Marie Toussaint (Greens/EFA, France) expressed concern about the lack of ambition in the fight against climate change at European and national level. Nicolás Gonzalez Casares (S&D, Spain) wondered whether national energy efficiency plans would live up to their ambitions.
Industry. Several MEPs, such as Patrizia Toia (S&D, Italy), criticised the Finnish Presidency's lack of appetite for industrial issues and stressed the need to develop an industrial strategy. The two ministers defended themselves against this and put forward a holistic approach that includes many aspects (trade, research, competence, digital). According to them, it is not only industry that should be focused on, but also the deepening of the single market for services (see EUROPE 12287/8).
Commercial sponsorships of the Presidencies. The two Finnish ministers were questioned, in particular by Marc Botega (GUE/NGL, Belgium), on the commercial sponsorship practices of the EU Council Presidencies (see EUROPE 12301/3) and the fact that the German car manufacturer BMW is associated with the Finnish EU Council Presidency. Mrs Kulmuni readily acknowledged this and assured that the sponsorship was limited to transport and met specific terms of reference. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)