The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, sent the Member States, on Tuesday 1 December, a first draft of conclusions for the next meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the European Union. Scheduled for Thursday 10 and Friday 11 December, this European summit will aim in particular to reach an agreement on the European Commission’s proposal to raise the EU’s target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to ‘at least 55%’ compared to 1990 levels (see EUROPE 12582/2).
Consulted by EUROPE, the text presented by Mr Michel is very similar to the guidelines he sent to the Member States on 24 November (see EUROPE 12609/15).
The only notable difference is the addition of a sentence concerning the proposals that the Commission should examine in order to achieve such a reduction in emissions by 2030. In addition to the three measures already mentioned in the guidelines, the Commission will be “ proposing measures that enable energy intensive industries to develop and deploy new climate technologies while maintaining their industrial competitiveness”, says the draft conclusions.
The document now specifically mentions agriculture and forestry as two areas where efforts to reduce emissions need to be strengthened.
The draft conclusions will be discussed by the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) on Wednesday 2 December. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)