On Thursday 3 October, the European Commission presented to the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) its communication on a series of nine ‘Clean Transition Dialogues’ held between October 2023 and April 2024 with European industry to support this transition.
This series concluded on 10 April with a communication from the European Commission (see EUROPE 13382/8) acknowledging the commitment of industry and the social partners to pursuing the objectives of the European Green Deal, but also the growing concerns about “the lack of a global level playing field, the risks of carbon leakage and insufficient access to finance”.
During the exchange of views in committee, a number of MEPs, from both the right and the left of the political spectrum, emphasised the urgent need to simplify the administrative procedures faced by businesses.
Alexandr Vondra (ECR, Czech) called for “deregulation” to ensure European competitiveness, “without which we will all be dead”.
In line with the recommendations of the ‘Draghi’ report (see EUROPE 13493/9), Peter Liese (EPP, German) considered it essential to speed up licensing procedures and guarantee affordable electricity prices.
Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis (S&D, Lithuanian) said that Member States must shoulder their responsibilities to complete the single energy market and ensure that transmission networks between countries are more efficient.
Majdouline Sbai (Greens/EFA, French), wanted to refocus the debate on social equity: “How can we ensure that this strategy of investment and support for our economy reaches all regions and does not exacerbate inequalities?”
She also called for SMEs to be systematically included in EU legislative packages aimed at transitioning the economy.
At the end of the exchange, the European Commission indicated that the ‘Clean Industrial Deal’, which it will present during its new mandate, will aim to respond to the obstacles raised by the dialogues with industry.
A specific roadmap will also be published to guide businesses in their transition, in addition to an action plan to ensure the accessibility of energy prices and a commitment to simplify administrative procedures, as announced in the mission letters of the future European Commissioners (see EUROPE 13485/10). (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)