Euro 7 Leak + BDI summit + EU Parliament • Table.Briefings

Dear reader,

Would you care for a tasty salad for lunch today? At least in the UK, they tend to last longer than some prime ministers. Liz Truss announced her resignation yesterday and thus lost to the iceberg salad of the British online newspaper Daily Star. Her successor is expected to be found over the next week.

My colleague Markus Grabitz uncovered and analyzed a first leak on the Euro 7 emissions regulation. This much can be said: The plans are ambivalent. The limits for passenger cars seem to have been eased, but trucks face drastically increased limits.

The heads of state and government of the EU-27 discussed the EU Commission’s proposals on the reduction of energy prices until late into the night. A strong faction continues to call for a gas price cap, but no agreement seems to be in sight yet.

The pressure on the raw materials issue is immense, said German Economy Minister Robert Habeck yesterday at the BDI congress, naming instruments to help companies secure raw materials supplies. Leonie Duengefeld attended the congress and presents the instruments.

Your
Lisa-Martina Klein

Euro 7 leak: Commission extends hand to industry over crisis

By

Markus Grabitz

Due to the rising cost for energy and raw materials, the Commission wants to give the manufacturers of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles a hand with the next stage of the emission standard (Euro 7). The emission standards for nitrogen oxides and particulate matter on petrol vehicles will not or only be slightly tightened compared to the current level (Euro 6). That is according to a Euro 7 draft available to Europe.Table. The Commission plans to present its proposal for Euro 7 on November 9.

The draft, which does not yet specify limit values, states that since the beginning of 2021, demand and sales of cars have declined sharply due to increased raw material and energy prices. This has created unprecedented pressure on automotive supply chains, and in times of high inflation, many consumers wonder whether they will be able to afford a new car.

To keep the costs of the transformation for manufacturers reasonable, the Commission made concessions regarding the emission limits for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. This must also be seen in the light of the year 2035, when the internal combustion engine is being pulled from the market.

Lower ambitions at the exhaust pipe

The draft does not specifically mention regulations for diesel-engine vehicles. Originally, the Commission targeted a scenario of medium ambition level (“3 a”). Now, the preferred scenario is lower, between the previous Euro 6 limits and scenario 3a. However, the lowered limits will only apply to the exhaust emissions of diesel engines. For evaporative emissions, brakes and tires, the original, stricter scenario will remain.

While the Commission does not want to drastically tighten the limits for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, the proposal for trucks and buses is all the more ambitious. For them, the originally envisaged scenario is to stay. The draft states, “This reflects the significantly slower transition to zero-emission technologies for buses and trucks.” Trucks and buses with internal combustion engines are likely to be much longer on EU roads than cars and light commercial vehicles.

In the impact assessment, the Commission concludes that Euro 7 will increase the purchase price of each truck by an average of €2681. Overall, manufacturers can expect additional costs of €17.53 billion over the 25-year period following the implementation of Euro 7. This applies to the Commission’s preferred scenario. By contrast, Euro 7 would reduce pollution by €133.58 billion in environmental follow-up costs.

Impact assessment: Euro 7 increases the price of passenger cars by 304 euros

For passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, the financial burden will likely be lower than indicated in the impact assessment, as the Commission intends to reduce the ambition level. In its impact assessment, it had still estimated additional costs from the regulation at an average of €304. Over a period of 25 years, the Commission calculated additional costs of €35 billion for passenger cars.

This was offset by savings of €55.75 billion due to lower pollution damage. In the scenario originally envisaged, the Commission had assumed that the purchase price of petrol vehicles would rise by an average of 0.8 percent, and of diesel cars and light trucks by 2.2 percent. The expected price increases will probably be lower due to the cutbacks in the limit values.

Opening clause for e-fuels

The draft also includes an opening clause for e-fuels. Article 15.1 h) states that under Euro 7 regulation, there may be options for manufacturers to approve vehicles that run exclusively on carbon-neutral fuels. The text adds, “if such vehicles exist.” The Commission reserves the right to adopt corresponding delegated acts five years after Euro 7 comes into force. Observers are uncertain what the background to the passages on e-fuels is. After all, the distinguishing feature of e-fuels is that they can already be used by all vehicles today. From a technical standpoint, cars that can only use e-fuels are hard to imagine.

The industry’s reaction to the draft is mixed. Manufacturers of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles stated that the draft showed that the Commission was now on a realistic path. In contrast, manufacturers of heavy commercial vehicles were highly alarmed. They say that the tightening of the limits envisaged is not technically feasible.

Thomas Koch, Head of the Institute for Piston Engines at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), says: “Just 18 months ago, the Commission gave top priority to environmental protection in its plans for cars and vans with the toughest emission standards. Now, suddenly, hardly any importance is attached to the same concern.” Koch fears the proposal would have consequences for development and research: “If this draft becomes EU law, manufacturers will soon be forced to stop developing hybrid drives.”

Raw materials strategy: Habeck and Russwurm found agreement

By

Leonie Düngefeld

At yesterday’s raw materials congress of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), German Economy Minister Robert Habeck outlined a range of instruments to help companies secure raw materials supplies: Loans and investment programs tied to diversified supply sources, security through guarantees, and an agreement among European companies to ensure balanced import sources. There will be no new German raw materials strategy – instead, Habeck relies on “work in progress” together with the EU Commission.

Green Vice Chancellor Habeck called it “alarming” that his speech yesterday was about 95 percent identical to that of his previous speaker Siegfried Russwurm, President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI): The pressure on the raw materials issue is immense, the analysis clear. Even a decarbonized economy, he said, depends on mineral raw materials. “We no longer have a problem with awareness,” Habeck summed up, adding that measures must be implemented quickly due to the crisis situation.

However, there will be no revised German raw materials strategy in this form, as was announced. Franziska Brantner, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics, already stressed that Germany would not go it alone. Instead, key points would be included in the planned German Circular Economy Strategy and the EU Raw Materials Act.

Habeck announced that he plans to tie loans, guarantees and investment programs for the industry to the diversification of import sources. If there were to be subsidies for semiconductors, for example, the prerequisite could be that the raw materials come from different suppliers in different countries, he explained. In addition to protection through guarantees by the German government, joint agreements between companies for a balance of import sources are being discussed at the European level, he said.

Support program for the development of domestic deposits

Politics and industry agree that three objectives of the previous raw materials policy still have to apply: Diversifying sources of supply, strengthening domestic mining, and expanding the circular economy. Habeck said that trade agreements must begin to also be raw materials agreements and that trade policy at the German and WTO levels must be revived.

Europe could offer its trading partners advantages compared to its competitors if trade agreements not only reduced tariffs on raw materials, but also on processed products. Value creation must happen more in partner countries. This applies, for example, to the agreements with Chile and Mexico; Germany also announced to look into Brazil. Habeck stressed the role of the German Raw Materials Agency (DERA) for the exchange of information on raw material deposits and potential trading partners. All of Europe would benefit from this expertise.

To facilitate the extraction of raw materials such as lithium in Germany, relevant laws are to be reviewed for hurdles. Here, the BDI calls for shortening and simplifying approval procedures and redesigning spatial planning. Habeck first announced a funding program for the development of domestic raw material deposits. One sticking point, on which he and Russwurm also agree, remains acceptance by society: Mining projects in Germany must be capable of gaining majority support.

NGO alliance demands raw material transition

Two days earlier, the NGO alliance Arbeitskreis Rohstoffe also held a raw materials summit – where it called for an end to precisely this logic: “German and European raw materials policy is still about laying as many access points to raw materials as possible now to maintain the status quo for the industry,” said Hannah Pilgrim of the NGO Power Shift. “We need a paradigm shift, a raw materials transition.” This includes respect for human rights in mining regions in the global south, in addition to environmental and climate protection. She called for a strong design of the EU’s Supply Chain Act in this regard.

The alliance also calls for concrete, legally anchored reduction targets for primary raw material consumption, similar to climate targets. Such an upper limit must apply to all material flows to prevent shifts or substitutions in the form of other raw materials and to close material cycles. Reliable monitoring should check the path to these goals. In the coalition agreement, the German government agreed to reduce resource consumption. A research project on this is to start soon at the Federal Ministry for the Environment

The goal of the circular economy will be an economic policy advantage, Habeck told the audience at the BDI summit. The industry long ago recognized this and launched its own initiatives. Whether the federal minister can fulfill his plans will be determined in two years, when the next BDI raw materials congress convenes: According to Habeck, by then at least guarantees and sureties for existing projects should be restructured, the DERA raw materials data used for a European strategy, a European toolbox established and further trade agreements ratified.

Energy crisis: Commission to facilitate reallocation of funds

Should the EU launch a new crisis program to mitigate the effects of high energy prices in member states? So far, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz opposes corresponding demands from France, Italy and other EU countries. He has now received support from an influential MEP from Portugal.

“We have many billions that we have already allocated and that can be redirected to address the current crisis,” Pedro Marques, Vice President of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, told Europe.Table. Both the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the Next Generation EU fund offer a lot of flexibility, and the European Investment Bank could be mobilized to support companies, says the former minister in Premier António Costa’s government.

Marques now sees the EU Commission as responsible for paving the way for the reallocation of funds reserved for member states in the recovery program. “I don’t understand why the Commission refuses to revise the national plans.” He also said that in the upcoming review of the MFF, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen should make considerably more adjustments than originally planned. “The Commission will apparently only propose a minimal revision of the MFF,” said the Social Democrat. “Europe has changed dramatically, why are we acting as if nothing has happened?”

The financial leeway should be used to support families and companies in the energy crisis. More funds are also needed to advance the energy transition, he adds. “The Americans are leading the way with the Inflation Reduction Act.”

Marques understands part of the massive criticism The German government’s energy price “defense shield” received. All countries are trying to support their citizens and businesses, he says. “But our concern is that as the war goes on, some governments won’t be able to do that, partly because of the ECB’s interest rate policy.” This would then lead to risk of distortions of competition in the internal market. Therefore, EU aid is needed to support small and medium-sized enterprises. tho

FDP rejects Habeck’s plan on Energy Charter Treaty

A dispute erupted in the German governing coalition over whether to remain in the Energy Charter Treaty. The international agreement protects energy infrastructure investments such as gas pipelines and power lines. The liberal FDP parliamentary group opposes the efforts of German Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) to withdraw from the agreement.

“The government already ruled out a withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty in the coalition agreement. The FDP faction stands by this,” FDP faction Deputy Lukas Koehler told Europe.Table on Thursday. The agreement between the social democratic SPD, Greens and FDP in the coalition agreement reads: “We are committed to a reform of the Energy Charter Treaty.”

“The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is critical of remaining in the Treaty. This position is well-known,” a ministry spokesman countered on Thursday. A decision by the German government on the Energy Charter Treaty has not yet been made, he added. Currently, the signatories are negotiating a reform of the Treaty. On Wednesday, the Netherlands announced its withdrawal from the treaty. It was not in line with the Paris climate agreement, Energy Minister Rob Jetten said.

Spain and Poland oppose the reform

The FDP intends to prevent Germany from taking a similar step. “Withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty would be a mistake in our view. Because, while the actual legal consequences of withdrawal would not take effect for another 20 years, Germany would lose any right to a voice in the relevant bodies immediately after withdrawal,” Koehler said. “It is therefore in Germany’s fundamental interest to remain in the Energy Charter Treaty and to be able to participate in future reforms to improve the agreement.”

The 55 contracting parties have until Nov. 22 to take a position on the reform of the Energy Charter Treaty negotiated in the summer. Apart from all EU states except Italy, the European Union itself is also a contracting party – which means that the member states are also bound by the 1991 treaty. Therefore, the governments are to decide in the Council in November whether the EU as a whole will support the modernization co-negotiated by the EU Commission.

Spain and Poland already announced their intention to withdraw from the treaty as well. France also sees modernization critically. If the three states vote against the reform in the Council and Germany abstains due to the coalition dispute, the necessary qualified majority in the Council for the reform would not be achieved. The Commission repeatedly said that in such a case, the EU as a whole would also withdraw from the Treaty. Because of the exit clause in the Treaty, withdrawing parties are still bound by its provisions for 20 years. ber/tho

COP 27: EU Parliament calls for higher climate targets

In light of the wide gap between current emissions reduction targets worldwide and the carbon reductions required to meet the Paris climate goals, the EU Parliament demands that industrialized countries commit to more climate action. In a resolution setting out the Parliament’s position for the world climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh (COP 27), a majority of MEPs on Thursday called for the EU to raise its climate target before the conference begins.

The EU could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 55 percent if it adopts the Parliament’s positions on the Fit-for-55 package and the RePowerEU program. To this end, it calls for the adjustment of the so-called Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

Although the Commission and the Council are in principle willing to raise the EU’s NDC, it is highly unlikely that this will happen before the COP 27. However, it is highly unlikely that this will happen before COP 27. The word from Commission and Council circles is that they intend to wait for the results of the trilogues on the Fit-for-55 package before revising the goals. The draft for the decision of the Environment Council for next Monday (October 24) available to Europe.Table, also shows this. At the Environment Council, member states will set their negotiating mandate for COP 27. The initiative for an NDC raise would also have to come from the Council.

Loss and Damage and 100 billion

In addition, MEPs stressed in their resolution that industrialized nations fulfill their climate funding pledge to developing countries of $100 billion annually. Furthermore, the Parliament calls on EU delegations to push for a “Loss and Damage” financing instrument at COP 27.

The latter is highly controversial, as some industrialized nations would prefer not to put Loss and Damage on the official agenda of COP 27 at all, fearing they will be held responsible for climate damage as major polluters. However, according to the draft decision for next week’s Environment Council, member states are in favor of discussing the issue “constructively” to find out more about the “needs” of developing countries.

Germany presents its own figures on climate financing

On Thursday, Germany presented the numbers for Germany’s contribution to the €100 billion pledge for 2021. According to these figures, €5.34 billion for climate finance in developing countries were allocated from the national budget. This is in addition to publicly mobilized market funds and private climate finance mobilized through KfW and DEG, bringing the total to €8.1 billion.

Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) said that the new figures showed that Germany was “stepping up its efforts to combat the climate crisis in all parts of the world.” He added that this must continue in the future to ensure that Germany keeps its promise to increase international climate financing from public funds to at least €6 billion a year by 2025. “This will require significant additional efforts in the budget years 2024 and 2025,” he urged.

Criticism of these numbers comes from charity confederation Oxfam. 46.9 percent of the public funds in 2021 were grants, the rest mainly loans. This means that Germany also contributes to the problem that a large part of climate finance increases the debt burden for poorer countries, comments Jan Kowalzig, Climate Policy Officer at Oxfam. luk

EU Parliament President: Truss resignation is a lesson

After just over six weeks in office, British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her resignation. She intends to remain in office as prime minister until a successor is found. This process should already take place within the next week.

The Conservative Party aims to appoint a new British prime minister by Oct. 31, according to Graham Brady, Chairman of the Conservative Party’s powerful 1922 Committee. Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt and Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace are also considered possible candidates. Ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also reportedly considering running for office again. The newspapers Times and Telegraph reported this on Thursday, citing unnamed sources.

EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola sees the resignation of British Prime Minister Liz Truss as a lesson from which other Europeans can also learn. Rhetoric can bring down a government, Metsola said Thursday on the sidelines of an EU summit. “I think it sends a message that market instability can lead to democratic instability.”

She expressed hope that this unstable situation would be resolved soon, and from the European Parliament’s side, they would continue to work with the UK. “When we make decisions, especially economic ones, we have to be aware of the possible consequences.”

Truss came under massive pressure after she triggered a financial chaos with proposed tax cuts. Just last Friday, Truss dismissed her Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng and replaced him with former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. On Monday, Hunt reversed almost all elements of her tax policy, which had only been announced at the end of September. He announced that the energy price cap, which was originally intended to last for two years, would be limited to six months. dpa

Combat drones: EU imposes additional sanctions on Iran

The EU imposed sanctions on Iranian targets for the second time in a week. This time over the supply of Iranian drones to Russia in response to attacks on Ukraine.

The sanctions in question were imposed on three senior military officers and the company Shahed Aviation Industries, which the EU claims to be linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. They are involved in the development and delivery of the combat drones, according to the EU statement. Their names were published Thursday in the EU’s Official Journal.

Mohammad Hossein Bagheri is the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and oversees the unmanned military aerial vehicle program. Sayyed Hojatolah Ghoreishi works for Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics and is responsible for negotiating the drone agreement with Russia. Saeed Aghajani is commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ aerospace forces drone command.

100 attacks with kamikaze drones

They were banned from entering the EU and/or their assets in the EU were frozen. EU companies and citizens are also prohibited from doing business with sanctioned entities, the statement added. “The EU condemns the delivery of Iranian drones to Russia and their deadly deployment in the war of aggression against Ukraine. The EU will continue to respond to all actions supporting Russian aggression,” the EU statement said. Two other individuals and two organizations could still be punished for the same reasons.

The sanctions were decided by EU ambassadors on Thursday, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said in Brussels. EU foreign ministers discussed the move on Monday. Russia attacked Ukraine in recent days with Iran’s Shahed 136 combat drones, which are intended for one-time deployment.

According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, more than 100 attacks with the so-called Kamikaze drones have occurred since last week. Iran denies supplying drones to Russia.

The EU already imposed sanctions on eleven Iranians on Monday over internal repression. Security forces recently brutally repressed people who protested across the country against the government’s repressive course, the mandatory headscarf, and the regime system. joy

CNIL imposes maximum fine on Clearview AI

The French data protection supervisory authority Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) imposed the highest possible fine under the General Data Protection Regulation of €20 million on the US facial recognition provider Clearview AI. In addition, CNIL ordered Clearview AI to cease all data collection and to verifiably delete the unlawfully collected data of French citizens within two months. Should Clearview fail to comply with the request, it faces further fines of €100,000 per day.

Clearview offers its services to security authorities, among others, and has no headquarters in Europe. The company did not respond to a formal request for comment from the CNIL (Europe.Table reported). In July, the Italian supervisory authority GPDP already imposed the maximum fine, and the Greek data protection supervisory authority followed suit in July. In these cases, too, the deletion of personal data in the supervisory authorities’ area of responsibility was ordered.

Clearview is seen as a test for the effective scope for enforcing European law against US companies. Should enforcement with the cooperation of US authorities not succeed, this would be an alarm signal for the upcoming decision of the EU Commission on transatlantic data transfer.

Brussels also closely follows the decisions of the supervisory authorities on Clearview because the Council and Parliament are currently coordinating their positions on the AI Regulation. Among other things, the new regulation will include stricter rules for AI processing of biometric data – including a fundamental ban on remote biometric recognition. fst

Carla Hustedt – digitization for everyone

Carla Hustedt is the Director Centre for Digital Society at Stiftung Mercator.

A resilient digital ecosystem in which social and democratic issues are constantly taken into account – this is what Carla Hustedt, Director of the Centre for Digital Society at Stiftung Mercator, is working for. A fundamental part of this is looking at power structures and the distribution of knowledge: “At the moment, one of the core problems is that we have a strong concentration of knowledge between a handful of private-sector players. We need to create more transparency here to facilitate the effective enforcement of fundamental rights, to develop new approaches to solutions from science and civil society, and to raise consumer awareness.”

Digitization as a transversal issue

Hustedt’s interest in power structures originally drew her from her studies in public policy to the professional field of digitization. Driven by a desire to make a difference and shape the future, she discovered her fascination with the tech sector during her time in political consulting. She is particularly enthusiastic about the fact that digitization touches all areas of society. She hopes that policymakers will also recognize digitization as a transversal issue: “We have to understand that all crises are also connected to digitization.”

Specifically, Hustedt currently focuses on the effective implementation of the Digital Service Act (DSA). The DSA is an incredible opportunity to keep an eye on the big digital platforms, Hustedt believes. However, this requires constant evaluation, concretization of the regulations, and knowledge transfer between the member states on the one hand and between the EU and the nation states on the other. Especially after the problems surrounding the General Data Protection Regulation, consistent implementation of the DSA is important in order to maintain the credibility of the EU.

Ethical issues need participation

Digitalization issues should not only be addressed in scientific and political circles: “Decisions will arise where it comes to weighing certain values, such as freedom of expression or the protection of minorities, and such value decisions should be made with the involvement of civil society voices.”

She also explored questions of values and ethics in the field of digitization in her work as Head of the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s “Ethics of Algorithms” project, which focuses on the social consequences of algorithmic decision-making.

Strong alliances are needed to address these challenges and questions across society. On behalf of Stiftung Mercator, Hustedt now seeks to create spaces for these alliances as well as to strengthen them financially: The newly founded think tank Agora Digitale Transformation, which will tackle the challenges of digital policy based on the example of Agora Energiewende, is also intended to help in this endeavor.

Hustedt sees herself as a neo-generalist: “That means going deep into specific topics and then zooming out again to the meta-level to identify interconnections.” This way, she draws connections analytically as well as interdisciplinarily and humanly – always for the transformation to a digital ecosystem geared toward the common good. Marlene Resch

EUROPE.TABLE EDITORS

Till
Hoppe

Charlotte
Wirth

Falk
Steiner

Timo
Landenberger

Corinna
Visser

Lukas
Knigge

Eric
Bonse

Sarah
Schaefer

Manuel
Berkel

Lisa-Martina
Klein

Markus
Grabitz

Stephan
Israel

Claire
Stam

Dear reader,

Would you care for a tasty salad for lunch today? At least in the UK, they tend to last longer than some prime ministers. Liz Truss announced her resignation yesterday and thus lost to the iceberg salad of the British online newspaper Daily Star. Her successor is expected to be found over the next week.

My colleague Markus Grabitz uncovered and analyzed a first leak on the Euro 7 emissions regulation. This much can be said: The plans are ambivalent. The limits for passenger cars seem to have been eased, but trucks face drastically increased limits.

The heads of state and government of the EU-27 discussed the EU Commission’s proposals on the reduction of energy prices until late into the night. A strong faction continues to call for a gas price cap, but no agreement seems to be in sight yet.

The pressure on the raw materials issue is immense, said German Economy Minister Robert Habeck yesterday at the BDI congress, naming instruments to help companies secure raw materials supplies. Leonie Duengefeld attended the congress and presents the instruments.

Your
Lisa-Martina Klein

Euro 7 leak: Commission extends hand to industry over crisis

By

Markus Grabitz

Due to the rising cost for energy and raw materials, the Commission wants to give the manufacturers of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles a hand with the next stage of the emission standard (Euro 7). The emission standards for nitrogen oxides and particulate matter on petrol vehicles will not or only be slightly tightened compared to the current level (Euro 6). That is according to a Euro 7 draft available to Europe.Table. The Commission plans to present its proposal for Euro 7 on November 9.

The draft, which does not yet specify limit values, states that since the beginning of 2021, demand and sales of cars have declined sharply due to increased raw material and energy prices. This has created unprecedented pressure on automotive supply chains, and in times of high inflation, many consumers wonder whether they will be able to afford a new car.

To keep the costs of the transformation for manufacturers reasonable, the Commission made concessions regarding the emission limits for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. This must also be seen in the light of the year 2035, when the internal combustion engine is being pulled from the market.

Lower ambitions at the exhaust pipe

The draft does not specifically mention regulations for diesel-engine vehicles. Originally, the Commission targeted a scenario of medium ambition level (“3 a”). Now, the preferred scenario is lower, between the previous Euro 6 limits and scenario 3a. However, the lowered limits will only apply to the exhaust emissions of diesel engines. For evaporative emissions, brakes and tires, the original, stricter scenario will remain.

While the Commission does not want to drastically tighten the limits for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, the proposal for trucks and buses is all the more ambitious. For them, the originally envisaged scenario is to stay. The draft states, “This reflects the significantly slower transition to zero-emission technologies for buses and trucks.” Trucks and buses with internal combustion engines are likely to be much longer on EU roads than cars and light commercial vehicles.

In the impact assessment, the Commission concludes that Euro 7 will increase the purchase price of each truck by an average of €2681. Overall, manufacturers can expect additional costs of €17.53 billion over the 25-year period following the implementation of Euro 7. This applies to the Commission’s preferred scenario. By contrast, Euro 7 would reduce pollution by €133.58 billion in environmental follow-up costs.

Impact assessment: Euro 7 increases the price of passenger cars by 304 euros

For passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, the financial burden will likely be lower than indicated in the impact assessment, as the Commission intends to reduce the ambition level. In its impact assessment, it had still estimated additional costs from the regulation at an average of €304. Over a period of 25 years, the Commission calculated additional costs of €35 billion for passenger cars.

This was offset by savings of €55.75 billion due to lower pollution damage. In the scenario originally envisaged, the Commission had assumed that the purchase price of petrol vehicles would rise by an average of 0.8 percent, and of diesel cars and light trucks by 2.2 percent. The expected price increases will probably be lower due to the cutbacks in the limit values.

Opening clause for e-fuels

The draft also includes an opening clause for e-fuels. Article 15.1 h) states that under Euro 7 regulation, there may be options for manufacturers to approve vehicles that run exclusively on carbon-neutral fuels. The text adds, “if such vehicles exist.” The Commission reserves the right to adopt corresponding delegated acts five years after Euro 7 comes into force. Observers are uncertain what the background to the passages on e-fuels is. After all, the distinguishing feature of e-fuels is that they can already be used by all vehicles today. From a technical standpoint, cars that can only use e-fuels are hard to imagine.

The industry’s reaction to the draft is mixed. Manufacturers of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles stated that the draft showed that the Commission was now on a realistic path. In contrast, manufacturers of heavy commercial vehicles were highly alarmed. They say that the tightening of the limits envisaged is not technically feasible.

Thomas Koch, Head of the Institute for Piston Engines at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), says: “Just 18 months ago, the Commission gave top priority to environmental protection in its plans for cars and vans with the toughest emission standards. Now, suddenly, hardly any importance is attached to the same concern.” Koch fears the proposal would have consequences for development and research: “If this draft becomes EU law, manufacturers will soon be forced to stop developing hybrid drives.”

Raw materials strategy: Habeck and Russwurm found agreement

By

Leonie Düngefeld

At yesterday’s raw materials congress of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), German Economy Minister Robert Habeck outlined a range of instruments to help companies secure raw materials supplies: Loans and investment programs tied to diversified supply sources, security through guarantees, and an agreement among European companies to ensure balanced import sources. There will be no new German raw materials strategy – instead, Habeck relies on “work in progress” together with the EU Commission.

Green Vice Chancellor Habeck called it “alarming” that his speech yesterday was about 95 percent identical to that of his previous speaker Siegfried Russwurm, President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI): The pressure on the raw materials issue is immense, the analysis clear. Even a decarbonized economy, he said, depends on mineral raw materials. “We no longer have a problem with awareness,” Habeck summed up, adding that measures must be implemented quickly due to the crisis situation.

However, there will be no revised German raw materials strategy in this form, as was announced. Franziska Brantner, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics, already stressed that Germany would not go it alone. Instead, key points would be included in the planned German Circular Economy Strategy and the EU Raw Materials Act.

Habeck announced that he plans to tie loans, guarantees and investment programs for the industry to the diversification of import sources. If there were to be subsidies for semiconductors, for example, the prerequisite could be that the raw materials come from different suppliers in different countries, he explained. In addition to protection through guarantees by the German government, joint agreements between companies for a balance of import sources are being discussed at the European level, he said.

Support program for the development of domestic deposits

Politics and industry agree that three objectives of the previous raw materials policy still have to apply: Diversifying sources of supply, strengthening domestic mining, and expanding the circular economy. Habeck said that trade agreements must begin to also be raw materials agreements and that trade policy at the German and WTO levels must be revived.

Europe could offer its trading partners advantages compared to its competitors if trade agreements not only reduced tariffs on raw materials, but also on processed products. Value creation must happen more in partner countries. This applies, for example, to the agreements with Chile and Mexico; Germany also announced to look into Brazil. Habeck stressed the role of the German Raw Materials Agency (DERA) for the exchange of information on raw material deposits and potential trading partners. All of Europe would benefit from this expertise.

To facilitate the extraction of raw materials such as lithium in Germany, relevant laws are to be reviewed for hurdles. Here, the BDI calls for shortening and simplifying approval procedures and redesigning spatial planning. Habeck first announced a funding program for the development of domestic raw material deposits. One sticking point, on which he and Russwurm also agree, remains acceptance by society: Mining projects in Germany must be capable of gaining majority support.

NGO alliance demands raw material transition

Two days earlier, the NGO alliance Arbeitskreis Rohstoffe also held a raw materials summit – where it called for an end to precisely this logic: “German and European raw materials policy is still about laying as many access points to raw materials as possible now to maintain the status quo for the industry,” said Hannah Pilgrim of the NGO Power Shift. “We need a paradigm shift, a raw materials transition.” This includes respect for human rights in mining regions in the global south, in addition to environmental and climate protection. She called for a strong design of the EU’s Supply Chain Act in this regard.

The alliance also calls for concrete, legally anchored reduction targets for primary raw material consumption, similar to climate targets. Such an upper limit must apply to all material flows to prevent shifts or substitutions in the form of other raw materials and to close material cycles. Reliable monitoring should check the path to these goals. In the coalition agreement, the German government agreed to reduce resource consumption. A research project on this is to start soon at the Federal Ministry for the Environment

The goal of the circular economy will be an economic policy advantage, Habeck told the audience at the BDI summit. The industry long ago recognized this and launched its own initiatives. Whether the federal minister can fulfill his plans will be determined in two years, when the next BDI raw materials congress convenes: According to Habeck, by then at least guarantees and sureties for existing projects should be restructured, the DERA raw materials data used for a European strategy, a European toolbox established and further trade agreements ratified.

Energy crisis: Commission to facilitate reallocation of funds

Should the EU launch a new crisis program to mitigate the effects of high energy prices in member states? So far, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz opposes corresponding demands from France, Italy and other EU countries. He has now received support from an influential MEP from Portugal.

“We have many billions that we have already allocated and that can be redirected to address the current crisis,” Pedro Marques, Vice President of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, told Europe.Table. Both the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the Next Generation EU fund offer a lot of flexibility, and the European Investment Bank could be mobilized to support companies, says the former minister in Premier António Costa’s government.

Marques now sees the EU Commission as responsible for paving the way for the reallocation of funds reserved for member states in the recovery program. “I don’t understand why the Commission refuses to revise the national plans.” He also said that in the upcoming review of the MFF, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen should make considerably more adjustments than originally planned. “The Commission will apparently only propose a minimal revision of the MFF,” said the Social Democrat. “Europe has changed dramatically, why are we acting as if nothing has happened?”

The financial leeway should be used to support families and companies in the energy crisis. More funds are also needed to advance the energy transition, he adds. “The Americans are leading the way with the Inflation Reduction Act.”

Marques understands part of the massive criticism The German government’s energy price “defense shield” received. All countries are trying to support their citizens and businesses, he says. “But our concern is that as the war goes on, some governments won’t be able to do that, partly because of the ECB’s interest rate policy.” This would then lead to risk of distortions of competition in the internal market. Therefore, EU aid is needed to support small and medium-sized enterprises. tho

FDP rejects Habeck’s plan on Energy Charter Treaty

A dispute erupted in the German governing coalition over whether to remain in the Energy Charter Treaty. The international agreement protects energy infrastructure investments such as gas pipelines and power lines. The liberal FDP parliamentary group opposes the efforts of German Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) to withdraw from the agreement.

“The government already ruled out a withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty in the coalition agreement. The FDP faction stands by this,” FDP faction Deputy Lukas Koehler told Europe.Table on Thursday. The agreement between the social democratic SPD, Greens and FDP in the coalition agreement reads: “We are committed to a reform of the Energy Charter Treaty.”

“The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is critical of remaining in the Treaty. This position is well-known,” a ministry spokesman countered on Thursday. A decision by the German government on the Energy Charter Treaty has not yet been made, he added. Currently, the signatories are negotiating a reform of the Treaty. On Wednesday, the Netherlands announced its withdrawal from the treaty. It was not in line with the Paris climate agreement, Energy Minister Rob Jetten said.

Spain and Poland oppose the reform

The FDP intends to prevent Germany from taking a similar step. “Withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty would be a mistake in our view. Because, while the actual legal consequences of withdrawal would not take effect for another 20 years, Germany would lose any right to a voice in the relevant bodies immediately after withdrawal,” Koehler said. “It is therefore in Germany’s fundamental interest to remain in the Energy Charter Treaty and to be able to participate in future reforms to improve the agreement.”

The 55 contracting parties have until Nov. 22 to take a position on the reform of the Energy Charter Treaty negotiated in the summer. Apart from all EU states except Italy, the European Union itself is also a contracting party – which means that the member states are also bound by the 1991 treaty. Therefore, the governments are to decide in the Council in November whether the EU as a whole will support the modernization co-negotiated by the EU Commission.

Spain and Poland already announced their intention to withdraw from the treaty as well. France also sees modernization critically. If the three states vote against the reform in the Council and Germany abstains due to the coalition dispute, the necessary qualified majority in the Council for the reform would not be achieved. The Commission repeatedly said that in such a case, the EU as a whole would also withdraw from the Treaty. Because of the exit clause in the Treaty, withdrawing parties are still bound by its provisions for 20 years. ber/tho

COP 27: EU Parliament calls for higher climate targets

In light of the wide gap between current emissions reduction targets worldwide and the carbon reductions required to meet the Paris climate goals, the EU Parliament demands that industrialized countries commit to more climate action. In a resolution setting out the Parliament’s position for the world climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh (COP 27), a majority of MEPs on Thursday called for the EU to raise its climate target before the conference begins.

The EU could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 55 percent if it adopts the Parliament’s positions on the Fit-for-55 package and the RePowerEU program. To this end, it calls for the adjustment of the so-called Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

Although the Commission and the Council are in principle willing to raise the EU’s NDC, it is highly unlikely that this will happen before the COP 27. However, it is highly unlikely that this will happen before COP 27. The word from Commission and Council circles is that they intend to wait for the results of the trilogues on the Fit-for-55 package before revising the goals. The draft for the decision of the Environment Council for next Monday (October 24) available to Europe.Table, also shows this. At the Environment Council, member states will set their negotiating mandate for COP 27. The initiative for an NDC raise would also have to come from the Council.

Loss and Damage and 100 billion

In addition, MEPs stressed in their resolution that industrialized nations fulfill their climate funding pledge to developing countries of $100 billion annually. Furthermore, the Parliament calls on EU delegations to push for a “Loss and Damage” financing instrument at COP 27.

The latter is highly controversial, as some industrialized nations would prefer not to put Loss and Damage on the official agenda of COP 27 at all, fearing they will be held responsible for climate damage as major polluters. However, according to the draft decision for next week’s Environment Council, member states are in favor of discussing the issue “constructively” to find out more about the “needs” of developing countries.

Germany presents its own figures on climate financing

On Thursday, Germany presented the numbers for Germany’s contribution to the €100 billion pledge for 2021. According to these figures, €5.34 billion for climate finance in developing countries were allocated from the national budget. This is in addition to publicly mobilized market funds and private climate finance mobilized through KfW and DEG, bringing the total to €8.1 billion.

Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) said that the new figures showed that Germany was “stepping up its efforts to combat the climate crisis in all parts of the world.” He added that this must continue in the future to ensure that Germany keeps its promise to increase international climate financing from public funds to at least €6 billion a year by 2025. “This will require significant additional efforts in the budget years 2024 and 2025,” he urged.

Criticism of these numbers comes from charity confederation Oxfam. 46.9 percent of the public funds in 2021 were grants, the rest mainly loans. This means that Germany also contributes to the problem that a large part of climate finance increases the debt burden for poorer countries, comments Jan Kowalzig, Climate Policy Officer at Oxfam. luk

EU Parliament President: Truss resignation is a lesson

After just over six weeks in office, British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her resignation. She intends to remain in office as prime minister until a successor is found. This process should already take place within the next week.

The Conservative Party aims to appoint a new British prime minister by Oct. 31, according to Graham Brady, Chairman of the Conservative Party’s powerful 1922 Committee. Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt and Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace are also considered possible candidates. Ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also reportedly considering running for office again. The newspapers Times and Telegraph reported this on Thursday, citing unnamed sources.

EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola sees the resignation of British Prime Minister Liz Truss as a lesson from which other Europeans can also learn. Rhetoric can bring down a government, Metsola said Thursday on the sidelines of an EU summit. “I think it sends a message that market instability can lead to democratic instability.”

She expressed hope that this unstable situation would be resolved soon, and from the European Parliament’s side, they would continue to work with the UK. “When we make decisions, especially economic ones, we have to be aware of the possible consequences.”

Truss came under massive pressure after she triggered a financial chaos with proposed tax cuts. Just last Friday, Truss dismissed her Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng and replaced him with former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. On Monday, Hunt reversed almost all elements of her tax policy, which had only been announced at the end of September. He announced that the energy price cap, which was originally intended to last for two years, would be limited to six months. dpa

Combat drones: EU imposes additional sanctions on Iran

The EU imposed sanctions on Iranian targets for the second time in a week. This time over the supply of Iranian drones to Russia in response to attacks on Ukraine.

The sanctions in question were imposed on three senior military officers and the company Shahed Aviation Industries, which the EU claims to be linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. They are involved in the development and delivery of the combat drones, according to the EU statement. Their names were published Thursday in the EU’s Official Journal.

Mohammad Hossein Bagheri is the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and oversees the unmanned military aerial vehicle program. Sayyed Hojatolah Ghoreishi works for Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics and is responsible for negotiating the drone agreement with Russia. Saeed Aghajani is commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ aerospace forces drone command.

100 attacks with kamikaze drones

They were banned from entering the EU and/or their assets in the EU were frozen. EU companies and citizens are also prohibited from doing business with sanctioned entities, the statement added. “The EU condemns the delivery of Iranian drones to Russia and their deadly deployment in the war of aggression against Ukraine. The EU will continue to respond to all actions supporting Russian aggression,” the EU statement said. Two other individuals and two organizations could still be punished for the same reasons.

The sanctions were decided by EU ambassadors on Thursday, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said in Brussels. EU foreign ministers discussed the move on Monday. Russia attacked Ukraine in recent days with Iran’s Shahed 136 combat drones, which are intended for one-time deployment.

According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, more than 100 attacks with the so-called Kamikaze drones have occurred since last week. Iran denies supplying drones to Russia.

The EU already imposed sanctions on eleven Iranians on Monday over internal repression. Security forces recently brutally repressed people who protested across the country against the government’s repressive course, the mandatory headscarf, and the regime system. joy

CNIL imposes maximum fine on Clearview AI

The French data protection supervisory authority Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) imposed the highest possible fine under the General Data Protection Regulation of €20 million on the US facial recognition provider Clearview AI. In addition, CNIL ordered Clearview AI to cease all data collection and to verifiably delete the unlawfully collected data of French citizens within two months. Should Clearview fail to comply with the request, it faces further fines of €100,000 per day.

Clearview offers its services to security authorities, among others, and has no headquarters in Europe. The company did not respond to a formal request for comment from the CNIL (Europe.Table reported). In July, the Italian supervisory authority GPDP already imposed the maximum fine, and the Greek data protection supervisory authority followed suit in July. In these cases, too, the deletion of personal data in the supervisory authorities’ area of responsibility was ordered.

Clearview is seen as a test for the effective scope for enforcing European law against US companies. Should enforcement with the cooperation of US authorities not succeed, this would be an alarm signal for the upcoming decision of the EU Commission on transatlantic data transfer.

Brussels also closely follows the decisions of the supervisory authorities on Clearview because the Council and Parliament are currently coordinating their positions on the AI Regulation. Among other things, the new regulation will include stricter rules for AI processing of biometric data – including a fundamental ban on remote biometric recognition. fst

Carla Hustedt – digitization for everyone

A resilient digital ecosystem in which social and democratic issues are constantly taken into account – this is what Carla Hustedt, Director of the Centre for Digital Society at Stiftung Mercator, is working for. A fundamental part of this is looking at power structures and the distribution of knowledge: “At the moment, one of the core problems is that we have a strong concentration of knowledge between a handful of private-sector players. We need to create more transparency here to facilitate the effective enforcement of fundamental rights, to develop new approaches to solutions from science and civil society, and to raise consumer awareness.”

Digitization as a transversal issue

Hustedt’s interest in power structures originally drew her from her studies in public policy to the professional field of digitization. Driven by a desire to make a difference and shape the future, she discovered her fascination with the tech sector during her time in political consulting. She is particularly enthusiastic about the fact that digitization touches all areas of society. She hopes that policymakers will also recognize digitization as a transversal issue: “We have to understand that all crises are also connected to digitization.”

Specifically, Hustedt currently focuses on the effective implementation of the Digital Service Act (DSA). The DSA is an incredible opportunity to keep an eye on the big digital platforms, Hustedt believes. However, this requires constant evaluation, concretization of the regulations, and knowledge transfer between the member states on the one hand and between the EU and the nation states on the other. Especially after the problems surrounding the General Data Protection Regulation, consistent implementation of the DSA is important in order to maintain the credibility of the EU.

Ethical issues need participation

Digitalization issues should not only be addressed in scientific and political circles: “Decisions will arise where it comes to weighing certain values, such as freedom of expression or the protection of minorities, and such value decisions should be made with the involvement of civil society voices.”

She also explored questions of values and ethics in the field of digitization in her work as Head of the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s “Ethics of Algorithms” project, which focuses on the social consequences of algorithmic decision-making.

Strong alliances are needed to address these challenges and questions across society. On behalf of Stiftung Mercator, Hustedt now seeks to create spaces for these alliances as well as to strengthen them financially: The newly founded think tank Agora Digitale Transformation, which will tackle the challenges of digital policy based on the example of Agora Energiewende, is also intended to help in this endeavor.

Hustedt sees herself as a neo-generalist: “That means going deep into specific topics and then zooming out again to the meta-level to identify interconnections.” This way, she draws connections analytically as well as interdisciplinarily and humanly – always for the transformation to a digital ecosystem geared toward the common good. Marlene Resch