The agreement on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2017 and the post-Covid-19 Recovery Plan reached by EU Heads of State and Government on Tuesday 21 July is already being criticised by environmental NGOs and political groups in the European Parliament for weakening the EU’s climate ambitions.
“This EU Council deal [...] has killed off all ambitions to achieve the 55% reduction of CO2 in a decade”, lamented MEP Christian Ehler (Germany), the EPP group spokesman on Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE).
Like the NGO Greenpeace, Mr Ehler denounced “severe cuts” in the framework of the Recovery Plan that could affect the EU’s action against climate change.
It must be noted that the European Council weakened or even deleted several European Commission proposals included in Next Generation EU (see EUROPE 12532/2 ; 12494/2), which the Commission believes could have contributed to environmental objectives (see EUROPE 12496/12).
Removing in particular the ‘Strategic Investment Facility’ proposed by the Commission. However, according to Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, this instrument would have made it possible to generate private investment in the renewable energy sector, for energy storage technologies or for the development of “clean hydrogen” and fuel cells.
In addition, the amounts for InvestEU, the rural development programme and the ‘Just Transition Fund’, all instruments that are supposed to contribute to climate objectives, have been significantly reduced (see other news).
A climate component considered barely binding
Beyond these funding cuts, Greenpeace criticised the lack of real ‘green’ conditions to ensure “that public money won’t go to polluting industries”.
While the Commission proposed, inter alia, to examine the consistency of the National Recovery Plans with the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and the National Just Transition Plans, the European Council conclusions simply indicate that an “effective contribution to the green and digital transition” constitutes a “prerequisite ” for a positive assessment of the plans by the Commission.
While agreeing with Greenpeace on the lack of real ‘green’ conditions in the agreement, the NGO CAN Europe for its part welcomed the fact that Heads of State and Government agreed to increase the share of total climate spending under the MFF and Next Generation EU to 30%.
For Sébastien Mang, Greenpeace advisor for EU climate policy, it is now the role of the European Parliament to intervene “to improve the prospects of a green and fair recovery”. A resolution is due to be put to the vote tomorrow (Thursday) at a plenary session (see separate news item).
See European Council conclusions: https://bit.ly/3jxINMc (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)