It was a busy week for EU environmentalists in the run-up to Biden’s much-anticipated climate summit. Meanwhile, the cracks between Brussels and Moscow widen into a chasm. And is Sofagate a mere symptom of a wider issue?
EU negotiators found an eleventh-hour agreement on a new climate law just before the leaders’ climate summit hosted by US president Joe Biden began on Thursday 22 April. This new law commits the bloc to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and to reducing emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030.
EU heads to virtual summit with head held high
The chair of the European Parliament’s environment committee, Pascal Canfin, claims the law to be a “game changer” in fighting climate change. The German chancellor shares Canfin’s optimism, reports AMS, and seemed relieved that the deal would raise the bloc’s profile at the summit.
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany (in German):
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“We will go to the US president’s climate summit with a good, clear European position: climate neutrality by 2050 and a 55-per-cent reduction by 2030. So, we can be seen on the world stage; this is a great thing and it is now underpinned.”
The European Greens see little reason to celebrate, though, and have launched a petition to “Save the European Green Deal”. Indeed, German Green MEP Michael Bloss called the deal struck between EU member states and the European Parliament a “failure”.
The targets set out in the new law are not high enough to meet the commitments the EU made in the Paris agreement, Bloss told Luxembourg’s 100,7. He also considers the calculation underpinning the 55-per-cent reduction target to be a mathematical sleight of hand, since the CO2 captured by trees and other plants will be counted, thereby reducing the effort required on the part of member states.
Bloss believes that the European Parliament capitulated under pressure from member states, spearheaded by Germany, who wanted to have the text ready to present to the US president this week.
Michael Bloss, Member of the European Parliament – Greens/EFA, Germany (in German):
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“If you look at what the Parliament’s majority had voted for – namely a real reduction in CO2 emissions of 60 per cent [by 2030], the end of subsidies for the fossil fuels coal, gas and oil, as well as the right to climate protection – we were not able to achieve our demands. In the end, we gave way to member states, partly because there was enormous pressure to do so.”
Also on Wednesday, the European Commission itself adopted a package of measures, including an ‘EU taxonomy climate delegated act’ that will enter into force at the end of May. The initiative is meant to steer investors towards sustainable investments and thus facilitate the implementation of the European Green Deal.
Political skirmishes over the content of this document – namely whether gas or nuclear energy would be included, even as transition sources – continued up to the very last minute, with the decision ultimately put off to another day.
Luxembourg, for one, has always opposed their inclusion. Indeed, their omission from the taxonomy does not affect a country’s right to choose its own energy mix or to build gas or nuclear plants, Luxembourgish energy minister Claude Turmes told 100,7. The taxonomy’s purpose is instead to inform investors about the sustainability of their investments.
Claude Turmes, Luxembourg‘s Minister for Energy (in Luxembourgish):
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“From a purely objective standpoint, neither gas nor nuclear power can ever be considered a green investment, since they either harm the climate or cause other environmental damage.”
Speaking to Latvijas Radio, Dutch Green MEP Bas Eickhout urged the Union not to bow to pressure from the gas lobby and only to class this energy source as ‘green’ in very limited circumstances.
Bas Eickhout, Member of the European Parliament – Greens/EFA, Netherlands (in English):
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“I understand that the easy way out is to replace a coal-fired power plant with a gas-fired power plant. But then you will make the mistake that countries like the Netherlands did with coal ten years ago. We opened a coal-fired power plant in the harbour of Rotterdam ten years ago. Now it needs to be closed because of our climate targets. So not only has the government supported a coal-fired power plant that is not delivering on its promises anymore, on top of that we have to pay the energy companies for closing it earlier.”
Is there a green wave on the horizon?
For the first time ever, announces AMS, a member of Germany’s Green Party is to run for the chancellery. Party chair Annalena Baerbock, who has held her seat in the Bundestag since 2013, has this week thrown her hat into the ring to succeed Angela Merkel.
Annalena Baerbock, Chair of Germany’s Green Party (in German):
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“A little bit of climate protection won’t work. Not just for our children and grandchildren, but for the industrialised country of Germany too. If climate neutrality is not THE baseline of the future federal government, then in my view that future federal government does not make much sense.”
Germany will elect its new chancellor in September. Baerbock’s candidacy excites Europe’s Greens as they dare to hope that a green-governed Germany might finally bring the Green Deal over the finish line.
In another momentous first, Greens now occupy four seats in Bulgaria’s new parliament as part of the Democratic Bulgaria coalition, which won nearly 10 per cent of the vote in the recent election.
BNR asked Pavel Antonov, co-founder of Bulgarian civil society foundation BlueLink, how far they might be able to bring their political influence to bear. He replied that this long-overdue shift could only be a good thing.
Pavel Antonov, Co-Founder of BlueLink (in Bulgarian):
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“The involvement of Bulgarian environmentalists in the new parliament is certainly an encouraging trend. For many people who follow European affairs, it was surprising that green and environmental causes and politicians were so poorly represented in [Bulgaria’s] political life and decision-making.”
Take a seat for Sofagate – it might just be the beginning!
Cartoonists have had a field day illustrating the so-called Sofagate incident, which occurred during the visit of European Council president Charles Michel and Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to Ankara on 6 April. The single seat placed next to Turkish president Tayyip Erdoğan led to an awkward ‘sit-off’ that ultimately saw Michel seated next to Erdoğan, and von der Leyen sidelined.
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To some observers, this seemingly trivial incident actually marks the beginning of a new geopolitical era for the EU – evidence of the challenge faced by the two EU chiefs to define their respective roles on the international stage.
There is undoubtedly an ongoing power struggle between the two institutions, says RTBF. But Sofagate also reflects how difficult it is proving for all of Brussels’ institutions to find their place in the outside world, vis-à-vis the 27 individual member state governments. The Robert Schuman Foundation’s Eric Maurice explains.
Eric Maurice, Head of the Robert Schuman Foundation’s Brussels Office (in French):
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“The internal and external dimensions of European policy are much harder to separate than they used to be, so there is a role for all the [EU] institutions to play. And then these two EU institution chiefs must co-exist with the 27 European national leaders who also, traditionally, play an important role on the international scene. So there is both a certain rivalry – a lack of understanding – between the two [EU leaders] and then, above all, the fact that their role is difficult to position in relation to the 27 heads of state and government, at a time when international issues are perhaps more important than they were before.”
EU-Russia relations continue to degenerate
Relations between the EU and Russia may have hit an unprecedented low this week as more tit-for-tat diplomat expulsions took place – this time involving the Czech Republic and Poland, as Polskie Radio and BNR report.
In recent months, several other EU member states have expelled Russian diplomats on suspicion of espionage, and in each case Moscow has been quick to follow suit.
In a dramatic turn of events last Saturday (17 April), Prague accused Moscow of involvement in a 2014 explosion at a Czech ammunition depot and ejected 18 Russian embassy staff. Moscow subsequently retaliated by expelling 20 Czech diplomats.
Questions are now being asked about possible Russian links to explosions in several Bulgarian munitions factories over the last decade.
Christo Grozev, the lead Russia investigator at British investigative journalism website Bellingcat, tells BNR that a series of events in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria in 2014 and 2015 appear to be linked – and to lead back to Russia’s military intelligence agency (the GRU).
Christo Grozev, Investigative Journalist at Bellingcat (in Bulgarian):
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“What we have are two explosions in two Czech warehouses, but there were also two explosions in Bulgaria at the beginning of 2015. And these same people, members of the same GRU department – 29055, this is its code name – are present both in the Czech Republic and in Bulgaria. Eight people from this department arrive in Bulgaria between December and May, in twos and threes, including just days before the explosions in Sopot [Bulgaria]. It is very difficult not to see the thread that runs between this GRU group and these explosions.”
So perhaps, as RTBF also points out, the seemingly “far-fetched” accusations are not as far-fetched as all that…
Last week, on 15 April, the Biden administration in Washington imposed a swathe of new sanctions on Russia in response to a range of “malign” acts. The powers-that-be in Warsaw are firmly in favour of such sanctions and many Polish politicians have pressed hard, for example, for Nord Stream 2 to be halted.
In light of recent events, Law and Justice MEP and former Polish foreign minister Anna Fotyga refutes the suggestion by a number of Western European voices that those further East take too radical an approach to Russia.
Anna Fotyga, Member of the European Parliament – ECR, Poland (in Polish):
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“We have extensive experience and do not simply think of economic priorities. European states should understand that Nord Stream 2 threatens the cohesion and security of the European Union. It strengthens a state and regime that is behaving very aggressively. Immediately halting the construction of Nord Stream 2 would be an appropriate move.”
Pfizer: the EU’s great hope
The vaccine developed and manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech has become the great hope of the European Union, says esRadio Castilla y León.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who earlier this month announced the bloc’s intention to negotiate a third contract with the company for the longer-term acquisition of up to 1.8 billion doses, stresses that this vaccine has proven its worth and the company its reliability.
Meanwhile, 50 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are due to be fast-tracked to the EU in the next two months, making up for delays in the supply of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine, which has been held up owing to blood-clot cases in the US. All in all, the EU seems to be feeling more optimistic.
Ioannis Virvilis, European Commission Spokesperson in Spain (in Spanish):
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“The most important thing is to keep in mind that vaccination is continuing in all the corresponding age groups for each vaccine. I believe that we are well on track to achieving our goal of vaccinating 70 per cent of Europe’s adult population by the end of the summer. It looks like this could even be achieved ahead of schedule.”
European Super League gets stuck in starting blocks
Just days after a controversial new European football league was announced, involving just a dozen British, Italian and Spanish teams, the initiative came to a grinding halt. Under enormous pressure from footballing authorities and the media, 9 of the 12 founding teams pulled out of the project, leaving it firmly on a hiding to nothing.
Critics from across Europe’s political spectrum spoke out against the elitist and exclusionary nature of the ESL and the financial motives that likely lay behind its creation.
Populist Italian politician Matteo Salvini, a supporter of AC Milan – one of the clubs involved – did not endorse his club’s decision to take part, as he told Radio 24.
Matteo Salvini, Leader of Lega Nord (in Italian):
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“The clubs’ interest in this seems quite clear to me. From a financial perspective, the strategy makes sense. But from a sporting, educational, and moral standpoint, it absolutely offends my sensibilities. As a supporter of AC Milan, I want a system governed by merit – not just in politics and in the workplace, but on the football pitch as well.”
- Author: Joanna Neville, Euranet Plus News Agency
