The serious warnings of this scorching summer in Europe, with fires that have devoured France or Belgium, a heatwave that left thousands dead, and an unusually warm Mediterranean Sea, do not faze Brussels. Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission, in its second term, is carrying out a series of controversial policies, having put the handbrake on some of its green ambitions due to pressure from industry, major community countries, and also the European People’s Party (EPP), the majority party in the European Parliament, where it can rely both on the pro-European coalition and the far right. In Strasbourg, a far right more numerous – and louder – than ever works tirelessly to “dismantle the green agenda,” their political obsession this legislature alongside reducing immigration.
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The atmosphere is very heated. Despite the climate warnings, the geopolitical landscape does not help Europe lead on the environmental front. Brussels listens to continuous warnings from both manufacturers and national governments about the havoc caused by the United States with its tariffs and China with its fierce competition. The Draghi report warned that one of the major problems of Europe’s lack of competitiveness compared to other major world powers is excessive regulation. The war in Ukraine and the rising cost of energy, also due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz following Donald Trump’s offensive against Iran, have not helped reduce manufacturing costs.
Berlin and Rome push to defend their automotive industry, Spain and Denmark to decarbonize
In this scenario, Germany and Italy, locomotives governed by Friedrich Merz and Giorgia Meloni, push relentlessly to relax climate targets and give a break to their major industries, especially the automotive sector. The lobby of major car manufacturers already scored a very important point in December by getting the Commission to backtrack on its plan to ban combustion engine cars by 2035. Von der Leyen listened to the manufacturers and proposed softening the rules so they can continue producing a limited number of cars that emit CO₂.
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All this, despite several capitals, including Spain and Denmark, opposing this shift and defending tooth and nail that the only way for the European economy to be more competitive is decarbonization, something that is generating certain tensions within the European Council meetings. The latest controversy was this July, a month ago, when after many other pressures from the same industrial bloc to reduce energy costs, the Commission proposed a reform of the emissions trading system (ETS), the toll that forces large polluting industries to buy permits to emit CO₂ and that some European countries, like Italy, Poland, and the Czech Republic, want to dismantle. In the end, after a long debate, Brussels opted for another “flexibility” mechanism: it allowed industries to continue polluting for longer but at the same time offered financial support to companies to invest in clean technologies.
The same happened when approving last year a package to reduce the bureaucratic burden on companies that cut environmental requirements, delayed the entry into force of measures, and reduced fines. A law that prevents importing coffee, cocoa, soy, wood, or palm oil linked to deforestation has also been postponed. “We are carrying out an intense simplification initiative. One of the policies is to try to simplify the rules to make life easier for our companies and reduce administrative burden, but in no case is this deregulation,” spokesperson Arianna Podestà responded this week. “We maintain our ambitions and have very clear climate targets,” she emphasized.
