The Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, said on Friday 8 May, to the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), that it will be necessary to prioritise investments and projects in the framework of the post-Covid-19 recovery and the Green Deal, explicitly mentioning the construction sector and the automotive industry.
“I would argue that we need to prioritise those issues and those projects that have the most tangible and immediate effects on especially employment”, Timmermans said. For him, the surest way is to focus on both SMEs and climate change. And two major sectors: construction and the automotive industry.
For him, investing in construction, including insolation and the conversion of heating systems, “leads to immediate results and that affect the whole value chain of the European economy, benefits to small and medium enterprises more than others”.
As for the automotive sector, Mr Timmermans stressed the need for more investment in recharging infrastructures - a long-standing demand of the sector (see EUROPE 12461/29) - and especially in the implementation of intelligent scrapping programmes. “The experience of 2008-2009 of scrapping programmes have also stimulated the sell of SUVs and I don’t think that should be part of our project”, he said.
The choice of sectors to be supported will be essential, according to the Dutchman, hence the need for the Commission to carry out a “good analysis”, he stressed. Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton is in the process of identifying 14 strategic ecosystems for the Union, such as digital, cultural and creative industries as well as tourism, aerospace, defence and health.
A Solidarity and Rapid Recovery Fund
For Mr Timmermans, the Recovery Fund needs to be the expression of real solidarity between the Member States and must therefore include a fair balance between loans and grants. Above all, for him, this plan must come as soon as possible, because “we are going to see the effects of the crisis as early as the summer and certainly in September and October”, he predicted.
The Vice-President re-emphasised the key role of hydrogen in the pursuit of climate objectives. Believing that this gas offers “ enormous opportunities for the European economy” as an instrument for storing energy or as a fuel for means of transport that cannot rely solely on electricity, he stressed the importance of having a “dual-use” gas infrastructure: for the transport of natural gas and, later, for the transport of hydrogen.
Kerosene tax
Mr Timmermans also expressed his wish for the aviation industry to contribute more to the decarbonisation of the EU economy. Calling on the sector to invest in better fuels, gradually mixing them with biofuels and then synthetic fuels such as hydrogen, he advocated in particular the idea of a kerosene tax. “I still doesn't understand why there's no tax on kerosene. [...] There is a lot to be done in this area and it will be part of our recovery plan”, he said.
Speaking on behalf of Michael Bloss (Greens/EFA, Germany), the Dutch MEP reiterated that the Commission does not intend to raise the EU's 2030 climate target beyond -50 or -55%, as proposed by the Parliament's rapporteur on climate law (see separate news item).
Finally, questioned by Niels Fuglsang (S&D, Denmark) on the possibility of revising the Stability and Growth Pact so that the temporary relaxation of budgetary rules (see EUROPE 12452/1) becomes permanent, the Vice-President is not in favour of this at this stage.
However, he stressed that a reappraisal of public and private debts will be necessary and that it will therefore be necessary, “at some point”, to re-discuss the rules of the Stability Pact. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot and Pascal Hansens)