Eleven energy and environment MEPs to watch

As leaders of political groups negotiate the composition of committees in the new European Parliament, Euractiv has identified eleven MEPs focused on energy and environment who are worth keeping an eye on.

MEPs, both new and returning, will descend upon Strasbourg next week for the European Parliament’s first post-election plenary session. Many will be hoping for a seat on their preferred committee, while more established MEPs will be seeking committee chair, vice chair or group coordinator positions.

For those lawmakers interested in energy and environment, the key committees will be Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and Environment (ENVI).

Fresh Faces

Lena Schilling – Greens – Austria

From activist to lawmaker: After publishing a book called ‘Radical Transition’ in 2022, the 23-year-old climate activist Lena Schilling was pegged as the lead candidate for Austria’s Greens.

Counting on seats in both the transport committee and ENVI, she wants “to continue to fight for the continuation of an ambitious Green Deal and a climate-friendly and socially equitable turnaround in transport,” Schilling told Euractiv, adding that she saw the transport sector as a particular climate laggard.

At time of writing Schilling was facing legal difficulties in Austria, which may impact whether she takes up her seat.

Thomas Pellerin-Carlin – S&D – France

Pellerin-Carlin is no stranger to EU energy and climate policy, with nine years of experience as a think tank researcher on the topic, initially at the Institut Jacques-Delors and then at at Institute for Climate Economics (I4CE).

He has put forward proposals for an energy transition that benefits the climate, social justice, and European sovereignty.

A former military officer, he also teaches at Sciences Po and the College of Europe, and joined the political party Place Publique in 2021.

Gabriella Gerzsenyi  – EPP – Hungary

A seat in ENVI seems like a natural fit for Gerzsenyi, who worked for sixteen years in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment, and prior to that spent five years in the Hungarian Ministry of Environment.

In a video presenting her candidacy, she said she could contribute more in the field of environmental protection, given her past experience and qualifications.

Before her election, Gerzsenyi listed her occupations as a writer and farmer.

Sigrid Friis Frederiksen – Renew – Denmark

Friis replaced ITRE veteran Morten Petersen as lead candidate for the Danish social liberal ‘Radikale Venstre’ party in the 2024 elections.

It seems likely that Friis will also fill Petersen’s shoes in ITRE. Upon receiving her party’s nomination, she said she was chosen “because I underline that we are the party for the next generation” and said that she would be “at the forefront” of “the climate battle”.

A long time political party member and energy consultant, Friis explicitly calls for “more nature, less agriculture” on her website. She is pushing for a €2,000 bn ‘European green super fund‘ to decarbonise Europe’s energy systems, and confirmed to Euractiv she is seeking a seat in ITRE.

Brigitte van den Berg – Renew – The Netherlands

Prior to her election, van den Berg was a councilor for the municipality of Beverwijk, northwest of Amsterdam.

Her focus on a social green transition is driven by concerns close to home – the region depends on the TATA Steel plant for local employment, but the facility has been suffering job losses, and residents have complained of air quality and health issues linked to the facility.

The transition to decarbonised steel production offers a potential lifeline for the plant – and for local jobs and quality of life. Van den Berg sees an EU framework as being essential to achieve such transitions, and told Euractiv that she is hoping to join the ITRE Committee.

Filip Turek – The Patriots – Czechia

Turek is a former racing driver and front runner of the Přísaha and Motorists alliance (‘Oath and Motorists’).

Passionate about cars, he denounced the Green Deal in an interview with Czech media as “an attempt to destroy the car industry in Europe”.

During the election campaign, controversial photos of Turek circulated on social networks, showing him wearing a helmet with the logo of the Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn and making a Nazi salute from a car. Turek could not be reached for comment.

As a member of the Patriots, he is likely to fall foul of the centrist parties’ ‘cordon sanitaire‘. However his high-profile and uncompromising focus on the combustion engine ban – a tension point between the right and centre-left parties – could yield him disproportionate influence.

Returning heavy-weights

Seán Kelly – EPP – Ireland

A veteran MEP who first took his Parliament seat back in 2009, Kelly was comfortably re-elected in 2024.

Kelly has made energy and the environment priority topics. He led negotiations on the 2019 revision of the Renewables Directive and was one of the rogue EPP members who voted in favour of the Nature Restoration Law in late 2023.

Kelly confirmed to Euractiv that he is seeking to return to ITRE, adding that “the term ahead will be crucial for setting out the required policy frameworks so Europe can achieve a carbon free electricity system in the 2030s”.

Pascal Canfin – Renew – France

As former chair of ENVI, Canfin witnessed first hand the backlash against the Green Deal – as exemplified by the pre-election farmer strikes across Europe.

As his liberal Renew group has lost seats, especially within French ranks, Canfin cannot again run to be ENVI chair but he wants to play a role as environment coordinator for his group.

In terms of issues, his priorities are EU investment, fixing climate target for 2040 and protection of nature and biodiversity. To this end, “we need to develop a value chain logic on biodiversity to convince EPP members”, Canfin told Euractiv.

Nicolás González Casares – S&D – Spain

Member of ITRE and substitute on ENVI in the last parliamentary term, González-Casares  led the Parliament’s work on the reform of electricity market design – one of the Committees’ most high-profile files.

He also led negotiations for the socialists on the much-debated energy performance building directive.

He identified “the creation of a new green technology fund that will catapult our capabilities into the industries of the future” in a post last week describing his priorities in the parliament.

Mohammed Chahim – S&D – Netherlands

Mohammed Chahim, a Dutch socialist known as “Mr CBAM” for having steered the negotiations on the EU’s new CO2 import tariff (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) is returning to Brussels as number two on the list of the Dutch Green-S&D coalition.

While he is not expected to assume the chairmanship of ENVI – several sources have told Euractiv that this role will be reserved for an Italian socialist – Chahim remains a leading candidate to become environment coordinator for his group.

Christian Ehler – EPP – Germany

After twenty years in the hemicycle, including five spent as the EPP’s coordinator in ITRE, Ehler confirmed to Euractiv that his is running to once again represent the EPP in ITRE. He already published concrete guidelines for what the new European Commission ought to do in the steel sector on Wednesday (10 July).

“We will have to face some uncomfortable choices” to ensure “climate neutrality without deindustrialising,” the German MEP said on the campaign trail. Ehler de facto represents the gathered interest of Germany’s industrial base, which makes him a force to be reckoned with in a term dedicated to industrial competitiveness.

[Edited by Donagh Cagney/Zoran Radosavljevic]

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