The announcement by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, regarding the ‘Green Deal Industrial Plan’ (see other news) has been well received by many members of the European Parliament. MEPs were due to vote on a joint resolution on the plan the following day, Thursday 2 February, but will now only do so in Strasbourg between 13 and 16 February.
The text still needs some fine-tuning after the Commission’s announcements, but it will also try to bridge the gap between the groups’ positions.
On the centre and left of the Chamber, the announcements regarding potential new funding and the mention of a European sovereignty fund were welcomed. Indeed, the Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, and the Greens/EFA are calling for new money to support European industry.
“We will not be able to do the ecological transition and build the new economic base without public investment. Of course, this is not all that is needed, but it is needed, and it is important that they are financed together, because investment capacities are different from one country to another”, Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA, Belgian) told EUROPE.
The EPP, on the other hand, is strongly against this idea. “It is regrettable that the only solution the Commission can come up with is throwing money at the problem [...] This cannot be glossed over by a big European spending spree, but requires a fundamental shift in policymaking that puts Europe’s competitiveness first”, said Markus Ferber (EPP, German).
His group is critical of the EU’s tendency to regulate the market, as with the Green Deal. This rather undermines the competitiveness of European companies, according to the EPP members.
Going further on the sovereignty fund
For those towards the left in the EPP, the President’s announcement is a positive sign, but Renew Europe, S&D and the Greens/EFA want to go even further. They note the rather vague language on the sovereignty fund and their resolution will be an opportunity, if they can agree, to clarify the framework and scope of such a fund.
For the time being, there are still some disagreements about what it should cover. For the European Parliament’s lead MEP on the matter, Valérie Hayer (Renew Europe, French), the sovereignty fund is the cornerstone of the Commission’s whole plan, but it must serve more than just the green economy: “Today the Commission has a copy-paste of the IRA, which focuses on the green transition, which is important, but not enough. The sovereignty fund must cover the climate, the green and energy transitions, but also chips, health, defence, space, agri-food, so that we have an ambitious fund and do not find ourselves tomorrow or in 2 years with shortages of medicines, for example”, she told EUROPE. She added that this was “what is at stake with the EU’s sovereignty and strategic autonomy”. Her colleague from the same group, also from France, Christophe Grudler, joined her in this observation.
However, this poses a problem for the Greens/EFA, who want to avoid the “Christmas tree” effect. “The sectors that should benefit are, for example, electrolysers, energy storage, power grids, which are needed for a 100% renewable economy. Adding all sorts of other sectors will slow down and undermine the process”, said Michael Bloss (Greens/EFA, German).
However, all the MEPs EUROPE spoke to are confident that their next resolution in February will adopt a common position that is good for European industry. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)