The EU Member States’ climate and environment ministers have been invited to Budapest (Hungary) on Thursday 11 and Friday 12 July to discuss how to pursue the European Union’s environmental priorities.
This informal ministerial meeting, chaired by the Hungarian Minister for the Environment and the Circular Economy, Anikó Raisz, will begin with a preparatory meeting for the UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP29), with the participation of its President, Mukhtar Babayev, the Azerbaijani Minister for Ecology and Natural Resources.
They will also discuss the European Commission’s initiative for the resilient management of water resources, which the Hungarian Minister for European Affairs, János Bóka, presented as a key priority of the Hungarian Presidency of the EU, recalling also that the Budapest Water Summit has taken place on several occasions, including in 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2023.
Topics such as cross-border pollution, the competitiveness of the circular economy and the financing of actions in favour of the environment, climate and the circular economy will also be addressed. János Bóka advocates a horizontal approach, to include social and environmental aspects within a long-term timetable.
The Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra, will represent the European Commission and take part in the press conference, scheduled for Friday 12 July at 3pm. He will also be meeting the Hungarian Secretary of State for Energy and Climate, Attila Steiner.
COP29. The European ministers, Mukhtar Babayev and Wopke Hoekstra, will discuss preparations for COP29, which will take place in Azerbaijan in November. The next steps for climate action and the expectations of the Member States will be discussed.
Competitiveness of the circular economy. Hungary’s rotating Presidency of the EU has made the circular economy one of its priorities, with two texts already being considered: the ‘Waste’ directive (see EUROPE 13433/4), on which the EU Council adopted a position under the Belgian Presidency in June 2024, and the regulation on ‘End-of-Life Vehicles’, which should integrate the automotive industry into the circular economy. The Waste Directive aims to reduce per capita food waste and to encourage textile producers to finance the collection and treatment of textile waste. Discussions will build on progress made under the EU’s circular economy action plan (see EUROPE 13182/12).
Resilient water management. Discussions will focus on creating cross-sectoral conditions for adaptive and resilient water management. The EU Council called for the implementation of the European Commission’s initiative on water resilience during its mid-term review of the eighth Environmental Action Programme on Monday 17 June (see EUROPE 13434/8). This comprehensive approach to water should guarantee the availability and security of the water supply through sustainable water management and solutions to climate change (droughts, floods, etc.).
Cross-border water and air pollution. The ministers’ discussions will focus on finding solutions to strengthen cross-border cooperation on these issues, in order to identify sources of pollution, reduce emissions and provide information.
European Investment Bank. The EIB will present its financial instruments dedicated to climate action and environmental sustainability. In its latest 2024-2027 roadmap, adopted at the end of June, the EIB pledged that it would allocate “more than half of its investments to climate action and environmental sustainability”. While the European Commission is considering the environment in the light of economic competitiveness, in its new strategic agenda the EIB says it intends to “close Europe’s investment gap”, in particular with a view to “strengthening its climate action”. The EIB is predicting that the carbon-neutral economy “will grow exponentially over the coming decade” and intends to support the decarbonisation of traditional industries and SMEs, while also helping farmers to adapt to climate change. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)