Simultaneously with the start of the General Reflections in the House of Representatives, the new EC president Ursula von der Leyen presented the European 'State of the Union'. She announced that she wanted to accelerate the road from Europe to the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
Despite the storm of criticism of the European Green Deal presented by European Commissioner Frans Timmermans, the interim target of CO2 reduction in 2030 has been increased from 40 to 55%.
Vulnerability of society and planet
“There is no more urgent need for acceleration than when it comes to the future of our fragile planet,” explained von der Leyen, after first addressing the fragility of human society manifested by the coronavirus pandemic.
“While much of the world's activity has stalled during lockdowns and shutdowns, the planet has become increasingly vulnerable. We see it all around us: from crops dried up by intense heat in Romania, to houses evacuated as a result of the collapse. of a glacier on Mont Blanc and images of forest fires that are burning an entire village in the American state of California and turning the sky over San Francisco apocalyptic red. But we also saw nature come back into our lives."
Most likely referring to the consequences of the lockdown due to the corona pandemic, which made the air cleaner, the world less noisy and wild animals even appeared in the cities.
Change economically feasible?
As a result, the European Commission has decided to accelerate the European Green Deal, because a status quo situation in terms of CO2 reduction is not enough. "I realize that 55% is not enough for some and 40% is too much for some," said von der Leyen. But according to the European Commission, it is necessary. It is in the interest of the youth that would support this policy and it is economically possible as well. The transformation causes job losses, but also creates many new jobs.
Von der Leyen: "Our impact assessment clearly shows that our economy and industry can handle this. And they want to. Yesterday 170 business leaders and investors - from SMEs to some of the largest companies in the world - called on Europe to set a target of at least 55%."
Higher price of CO2 rights and import tax
It is necessary, however, for the price of CO2 rights to rise. There must also be a so-called European border tax on CO2 to prevent products from outside the EU that are imported with a high CO2 tax, including food, from causing unfair competition with EU products that are heavily taxed on CO2 emissions. It remains to be seen how this import tax will be tackled in the context of the world free trade agreements in a WTO context, von der Leyen hinted.
The message of the European Green Deal formed an important part of the State of the Union message, in addition to the policy regarding the corona pandemic, positive effects of digitization and global political relations, in particular the situation in Belarus. The completion of the European Monetary Union and the arrival of European taxes were also explained. "Never before has there been so much confidence from the financial world in the Euro currency," said von der Leyen.
Agriculture not named
Unlike the Speech from the Throne in the Netherlands, except for a phrase about precision farming, the agricultural sector was not specifically named. The Dutch king emphasized the importance of the agricultural sector for a vital, reliable food supply in times of crisis.
The lack of the agricultural sector is therefore the most important comment from CDA MEP Annie Schreijer Pierik at the State of the Union. The SGP indicated in the Dutch parliament as well as in its response to the State of the Union that it would like to see more powers returned for national Dutch policy. Spokesperson for Forum for Democracy, Derk Jan Eppink, even speaks of European growth hormone, referring to the introduction of European taxes. Like the PVV, this party wants to leave the European Union.
© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.
