In the run-up to the European elections on 9 June, safeguarding the ‘European Green Deal’ is essential if we are to maintain the ambitious climate targets negotiated during the last mandate. According to a report published on Monday 3 June by the Jacques Delors Institute, a European think-tank specialising in EU policies, a “broad-based grand coalition ” comprising the European Greens, Social Democrats, Liberals and the European People’s Party (EPP) could secure these targets while supporting the EPP candidate, Ursula von der Leyen.
In his study, French and European energy policy researcher Phuc-Vinh Nguyen, who explains the issues through a French prism, reports that, five years after the 2019 European elections, citizens’ concerns have shifted from climate marches to farming demonstrations, all focussed on environmental standards.
According to the spring 2024 Eurobarometer survey, 37% of French people consider the fight against climate change to be an electoral priority.
Despite the progress made, the work on the ‘European Green Deal’ remains incomplete. Three quarters of the regulations have been adopted, mainly in the energy and transport sectors. However, the rise of Europe’s radical right could jeopardise these achievements, although a complete unravelling is politically and legally unlikely. Ad hoc majorities for each text could nevertheless weaken the ecological transition.
As the analysis points out, the elections therefore represent an opportunity to debate the future of the ‘Green Deal’ and its implementation, since their outcome could be decisive for the EU’s climate ambitions over the coming years.
The report (in French): https://aeur.eu/f/cil (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)