A ‘strengthened’ European Green Deal: the reappointment of Ursula von der Leyen
Strasbourg - Ursula von der Leyen has been reappointed President of the European Commission. In her speech she presented new ambitious targets for the green transition, but investment will have to be far higher than in previous years.
Strasbourg - Ursula von der Leyen was reappointed President of the European Commission with a significant majority on 18 July 2024. In the vote held in Strasbourg, von der Leyen received 401 votes in favour, with 284 against, 15 abstentions and 7 spoiled ballots. This result secured her a second term, which will last until 2029.
In her heartfelt speech before the vote, von der Leyen reaffirmed the need for a stronger Europe that guarantees prosperity and protection for its citizens, stressing the importance of the European Green Deal. “We need a stronger Europe that guarantees prosperity and protects people. A Europe that sticks to the goals of the European Green Deal with pragmatism, technological neutrality and innovation.”
Von der Leyen said she is committed to responding to young people’s concerns about the future of the planet and to the challenges European farmers are facing. She also stressed that achieving the goals of the European Green Deal is a commitment to intergenerational fairness, to guarantee a better future for the new generations, who would never forgive us for a failure.
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Results achieved and goals for the future
The President highlighted the significant progress made in the first half of 2024. “50% of electricity production now comes from renewable sources,” she said. “Investment in clean technologies in Europe has more than tripled, and we are attracting more investment in clean hydrogen than the USA and China combined. Thirty-five new agreements on hydrogen and clean technologies have been launched. This is the Green Deal in action.”
She also confirmed that the EU will keep the commitments set for 2030 and 2050, presenting a new industrial deal in the first 100 days of the new term: the Clean Industrial Deal, a package of measures to support the green transition of the industrial sector in line with accelerated decarbonisation goals. The decarbonisation of energy-intensive industrial sectors will also benefit from simpler procedures.
In this regard, von der Leyen announced her intention to speed up the planning of tenders and permits, making them faster and simpler. “Businesses need certainty for their investments and innovations, and they can count on the EU for that,” she said. “We will enshrine the target of a 90% reduction in emissions by 2040 in the European Climate Law.”
On the transition, von der Leyen stressed the importance of pragmatism, technological neutrality and innovation, but also of increasing productivity through the spread of digital technology and the strengthening of the single market. The goals are to stay on the course of an environmental policy already established in the past and to make it even more ambitious and incisive in this term.
Support for investment and training
The President also stressed the need for greater investment in agriculture, industry, digital and strategic technologies, as well as in people’s training. “This will be the European mandate for investment, which begins with the completion of the capital markets union. European citizens must be able to invest in European startups, which must not be forced to look for funding in the United States or outside the EU.”
It is a fact, however, that projects for ecological sustainability in this second term require heavy investment, much greater than what has been made in recent years. Ambitious projects such as clean steel or other clean production technologies will need substantial private investment, which cannot be sustained without help from Europe.
Despite the good results achieved in producing electricity from renewable sources, it will have to cost less than today to allow European companies to be competitive with non-EU competitors that use traditional sources. It is no coincidence that von der Leyen proposed the creation of a European competitiveness fund, also useful for channelling private and household investment in Europe into local startups.
The European Union under Ursula von der Leyen reaffirms its commitment to a future without energy from fossil fuels, which will be banned as soon as possible. But that is not all: Europe is putting itself forward as a global leader in the fight against climate change by promoting a green and competitive economy. However, outside Europe, part of the world thinks differently. The American elections in November could bring a change of paradigm on the ecological question and beyond. And even within the European Parliament, as we know, there is no shortage of dissent.
