Energy, environment tensions underpin Strasbourg high politics

4 months ago 19

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It seems as though half of Brussels is descending upon Strasbourg this week, for the first plenary of the new European Parliament term.

While there are lots of committee chair, coordinator and (yes) quaestor roles to be assigned, most attention will be reserved for Ursula von der Leyen, and her quest to secure a second term as Commission President.

An anonymous ballot and the absence of any pre-agreed formal coalition deals between the Parliament’s political groups means this is likely to be a high-drama affair. There will simply be von der Leyen’s speech on Thursday afternoon, and then MEPs will vote. Only afterwards will we know if she succeeded or failed.

To be secure, von der Leyen needs support from a forth political group, beyond the three main centrist parties, the centre-right European Peoples Party (EPP), centre-left Socialist & Democrats (S&D) and the liberals Renew. This will most likely come from the Greens.

Here she will face a tricky balancing act – Green support cannot be at the expense of alienating large parts of her own EPP group, who are weary of the Green Deal and its political pain.

And this is where high politics must grapple with detailed policy.

There are two Green Deal files in particular, where battle lines are clearly drawn between the groups, with no obvious ‘fudge’ of a compromise to be found for a solution.

Firstly there is the 2035 combustion engine ban, which the Greens and S&D support, but elements of the EPP voraciously oppose.

Then there is the deforestation law, which the EPP wants to suspend, but others wish to see fully and immediately implemented.

There are other agricultural concerns too, but positions are less entrenched, and so some suitably aspirational wording and soaring rhetoric can likely smooth over tensions – at least for now.

Von der Leyen’s speech may or may not secure her a second term. But either way, her speech will make clear the extent to which the energy transition and environmental protection have been irrevocably hard wired into EU high politics.

[Donagh Cagney]

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.

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EU energy ministers talk geothermal in Budapest – By Nathan Canas
Germany awards €200m green hydrogen subsidy to UAE-linked firm – By Nikolaus J. Kurmayer
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Eleven energy and environment MEPs to watch – By Bárbara Machado, Donagh Cagney, Nathan Canas, Nikolaus J. Kurmayer and Paul Messad
Environment ministers in Budapest: What’s on the agenda – By Bárbara Machado

EU INSTITUTIONS. Von der Leyen’s speech: The topics that burn. Ursula von der Leyen’s speech on Thursday at European Parliament will be crucial to ensure the majority she needs to be reelected as Commission president, but to convince all pro-EU coalition lawmakers, she will have to address some key EU policy issues. Read more.

BERLIN. As EU Socialists urge Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to stick to the 2035 ban on new petrol cars, German Transport Minister Volker Wissing warned that refusing to reverse the ban would be a “gigantic electoral fraud”. Read more.

MADRID. Ribera, optimistic but prudent, about chances of being EU Commissioner. Spanish Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera (PSOE/S&D) is confident she will join the next European Commission, led for a possible second time by Ursula von der Leyen, perhaps in the climate or energy portfolio, she told the media. Read more.

‘Heat under your feet’ tops Hungarian EU Council presidency’s energy agenda – By Evi Kiorri

The changing dynamics of European electricity markets – By Conall Heussaff
How the new EU Battery Fund can put Europe on the battery map – By Chris Heron, Julia Poliscanova and Kinga Timaru-Kast

14 OCTOBER. Environment Council
17-18 OCTOBER. European Council
16 DECEMBER. Energy Council
17 DECEMBER. Environment Council
19-20 DECEMBER. European Council

[Edited by Rajnish Singh]

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