Our soil is supposed to store CO2, even more than our forests. But in the meantime, the soil – even in Germany – is emitting more greenhouse gas than it is storing. According to the EU Commission, 70 percent of soils in the EU are in poor condition. That’s why it wants to protect the soil better by law. It has already failed once, but is now making a new attempt. Farmers don’t think that’s a good idea; they’d rather solve the problem locally, as my colleague Timo Landenberger found out.
Observers in many neighboring countries also thought it was not a good idea when Italians elected Georgia Meloni as their country’s first female Prime Minister. The fears were great. What could be expected from a post-fascist politician and her Fratelli d’Italia party? She certainly didn’t mess with the EU. On the contrary, a directionless EPP in Parliament could seek support from Meloni. At least that is the opinion of Giovanni Orsina, director of the School of Government at the University Luiss-Guido Carli in Rome, with whom Isabel Cuesta spoke to analyze Meloni’s current prospects.
The Federal Press Office also takes an argumentative perspective. It wants to reach voters where they are – on Facebook. The fact that Facebook may not be complying with EU rules on cookies is not a matter for the press office, it believes. The Federal Data Protection Commissioner sees things differently and has prohibited the office from utilizing the site. The matter will now be settled by the Cologne Administrative Court.
There is a good chance that EU defense ministers will be able to approve the two-billion-euro procurement program for artillery ammunition today, Monday. The EU ambassadors had found a basis for a political agreement, diplomats expressed confidence on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, China’s President Xi Jinping is traveling to Russia this week, the first time since the Ukraine war began. The former head of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, expects Xi and Putin to show unity there. Europe should also show unity – says Ischinger.
I wish you a successful week,
In an open letter to the European Commission, the Soil Health Coalition calls for an ambitious EU law to protect soil health. Effective soil protection is the basic prerequisite for successful climate protection, the restoration of nature and biodiversity, a good water supply and food security, the letter says.
The alliance includes more than 250 representatives from business, science and civil society, among them the German Federation of the Organic Food Industry (BÖLW), the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) and the European Environmental Bureau, as well as food companies such as Nestlé and Unilever.
The specific demands are:
“An ambitious EU soil protection law is not only ecologically necessary, but also makes economic sense”, explains NABU expert Simon Krämer. Monitoring and protecting soil health would become increasingly inexpensive, while the rapid deterioration of its condition would cause ever higher costs for the environment, the economy and society.
Soils, for example, represent the largest CO2 reservoir on land, ahead of forests. According to calculations by NABU, one ton of newly formed humus removes around 1.8 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. “But even in Germany, where we still have very good soils in proportion, they are increasingly moving from storage to emitters, losing an average of 0.19 metric tons of CO2 per hectare per year”, says Krämer. In other countries, including France, the situation is much worse.
Particularly problematic: water management. In fact, the average annual amount of precipitation in Germany has been increasing for decades. At the same time, groundwater levels are at worrying lows. In agriculture, large-scale irrigation systems have to be used, and drinking water suppliers are sounding the alarm.
How does that fit together? “We don’t have less precipitation overall, but it’s raining less frequently and more heavily”, says Krämer, describing the situation. The increasingly hydrophobic soils, however, are less and less able to process this rainfall. There is a lack of root systems, of organic material, of life that loosens the soil, he says. “The soils are like welded shut. Biologically dead”.
The result: flooding, erosion, a decline in soil fertility and thus in crop yields, and even desertification. “In Germany, we have not yet reached this tipping point in many regions and can achieve record harvests through maximum fertilization”, says Krämer. As a result, he says, sensitivity to the problem among farmers is not yet very pronounced. This is different in the USA, where the drought is already more advanced and with it the transformation of agriculture.
The EU Commission is aware of the problem. Seventy percent of the soils in the EU are in poor condition. The reason for this is unsustainable cultivation, overuse and overfertilization, according to the Brussels authority. In its soil strategy of November 2021, the Commission announced a corresponding law, which it intends to present in June.
The strategy aims to reduce soil pollution by 2050 to the point where there is no longer any danger to humans or the environment and as many natural soil functions as possible can be fulfilled. The Commission’s targets also include reducing the use of fertilizers by at least 20 percent.
The German government welcomes the initiative. The national regulations, including the existing level of protection in Germany, are not sufficient, says the Ministry for the Environment. The increasing challenges posed by climate change, for example, can only be met on a cross-national basis. A harmonized approach was also agreed upon in the coalition agreement. This could “help, for example, to protect the production of agricultural products in Germany from distortions of competition caused by unequal levels of protection”, explains the BMUV.
“Agriculture does not need an EU soil protection directive. A central Brussels set of rules on this would even be counterproductive“, counters Udo Hämmerling, deputy secretary general of the German Farmers’ Association (DBV). “The concrete decision on the management of fields and meadows can only be made by the farmer in relation to the location, not centrally in Brussels or Berlin authorities”. After all, farmers have a direct self-interest in maintaining and improving soil fertility, he said. Every field is different, which would be disregarded by centralized regulations.
In fact, the European Union already made an attempt to introduce an EU law on soil protection between 2008 and 2014 – and failed, primarily due to the subsidiarity principle. This is one of the reasons why the Commission wants to carry out a close examination, make the law a directive and “ensure that national and regional solutions can be applied if this makes more sense”.
In her first five months in office, Giorgia Meloni has shown herself to be a moderate and responsible head of government on national and international issues. And since she currently has no serious rivals to fear inside or outside her coalition government, she may even contribute to Italy’s stability. A possible alliance with Manfred Weber’s European People’s Party (EPP) could also secure a relevant position for the Italian prime minister in Europe in the 2024 European elections.
The Meloni phenomenon can be explained from several perspectives. She has benefited from the fact that a society disenchanted with politics is now looking for answers in a right-wing party like the Fratelli d’Italia (FdI). Meloni has modernized the party and oriented it toward a pro-European and Atlanticist discourse. In recent polls, Fratelli D’Italia has consolidated its position as the strongest force in the country, with a 30 percent share. By contrast, its coalition partners, Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (FI) and Matteo Salvini’s Lega, together scored only 16 percent.
“The crisis of Berlusconism has matured and concluded“, says Giovanni Orsina, director of the School of Government at the University Luiss-Guido Carli in Rome. “Berlusconi’s ability to dominate the right-wing coalition is coming to an end”. First, he said, there was Salvini from 2018 to 2019 and now Meloni. “The historically right-wing electorate has reconstituted itself”, Orsina says, “but not around the center-right of Berlusconi, but around the right-wing forces”. (Read the full interview with Giovanni Orsina in German here.)
But a withdrawal of Berlusconi from the political stage would not benefit Meloni, Orsina says. “The moment Berlusconi leaves politics, chaos would reign at Forza Italia. Meloni is interested in stability. At the moment, Berlusconi guarantees stability“.
For the future, Meloni could try to position herself more broadly and move more to the center. “However, the decision to serve this whole spectrum, as Berlusconi has done, could weaken Meloni. Because she would have to satisfy all positions”, says Luca Verzichelli, president of the Italian Political Science Association.
The opposition is fragmented: Matteo Renzi’s and Mario Calenda’s centrist Terzo Polo currently has eight percent, while the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the Partito Democratico (PD) each have around 17 percent. The PD is just beginning to realign itself with its new leader Elly Schlein.
Paradoxically, the fact that there are currently no serious rivals to Meloni shows both a crisis of democracy and an opportunity. “There is no alternative to Meloni right now, and there won’t be, at least not until the 2024 elections”, Orsina says. “Meloni could run on substantive policy initiatives instead of getting lost in the politics of the day”.
The professor of contemporary history emphasizes that, while democracy may be weakened by the lack of alternatives to Meloni, at least there is a government that has received a clear electoral mandate. This is significant progress compared to a year ago.
On average, a new government is formed in Italy every 13 months. “Meloni’s government has a good chance of lasting until the end of the legislative period – provided there are no unforeseen twists and turns. Which is always possible in Italy”, Verzichelli says.
Moreover, fears about Meloni and her party’s origins in the post-fascist spectrum have so far proved largely unfounded. “Ideologically, Meloni has nothing at all to do with fascism today”, Orsina says. But this does not change the fact that the FdI has a different idea of Europe, Verzichelli explains. “But that’s democracy and diversity of opinion on the one hand, and on the other, the party knows full well that Italy functions well within the EU”.
Meloni shows political responsibility and a pro-European stance in cooperation at the EU level. Both economically, by following Draghi’s line, and in her solidarity with Ukraine.
The good relationship between Meloni and Weber is evident. It remains to be seen whether an alliance between the EPP and the FdI will form for the 2024 EU elections – or after. Despite Berlusconi’s missteps with his statements on Ukraine, Weber insists on his support for Forza Italia.
“The EPP is now faced with the question of which party it wants to be: does it want to be a center-right force that opens dialogue with the conservatives? Or does it want to be a center force that allies itself with the liberals and social democrats? This is a political struggle within the EPP“, Orsina analyzes.
So the question is whether it will be possible to restore the “maggioranza Ursula” – as the majority coalition in the EU Parliament between the EPP, the Social Democrats and the Liberals in Italy is called. There is a part of the EPP that sees Meloni as an ally who can balance the balance of power in the EU Parliament.
“There is no dumber saying than ‘The market settles everything on its own’”,thinks Holger Lösch. The 59-year-old is the deputy managing director at the Federation of German Industries (BDI). “Politicians have to set the goals and the framework”. A good example, he says, is the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). With “pragmatic tax credits”, the Biden administration is making the US “one of the most competitive places in the world for green hydrogen production”, Lösch says. Germany and Europe need an “effective response” to the IRA, Lösch said, referring to the further development of the National Hydrogen Strategy, which is disappointing for the BDI.
So full steam ahead for industrial policy and state dirigisme? Lösch doesn’t want that either. For the exact path to implementation – for example, climate neutrality – the market mechanisms are clearly superior. The BDI study “Climate Paths 2.0”, which Lösch supervised two years ago, shows one way. The key findings: The transformation to a climate-neutral industrialized country is possible, and the German targets for 2030 and 2045 can be met “with rapid action”.
Lösch has been working for the industry association, which represents 100,000 German companies with its members, since 2008. As Deputy Chief Executive Officer, he is responsible for five departments with a combined staff of around 50. One of these is the Energy and Climate Policy Department. In this respect, Lösch is simultaneously concerned about persistently high energy prices and the threat of climate catastrophe: “A plus-four-degree world would certainly not be a paradise for entrepreneurs either”. In his view, however, Europe is getting bogged down too much in detailed regulation, for example on which technologies lead to the goal.
As a result, “in terms of implementation, we’re not at the point where we want to be”. One lever to change that, he said, is to speed up planning and permitting processes. “If we want three times as much renewables as we currently have, we can’t do it in the existing system”. The US IRA, he said, could serve as a model for how to simply – through tax credits, for example – provide more speed. A high-ranking US official once said to him about the differences in mentality between US and EU climate policy: “You do things that are deep green, we do things that are cash green”.
The saying has haunted him ever since – and is true when you look at how wind turbines are sprouting up in Republican-ruled Texas, of all places. However, he criticizes the foreclosure elements in the Americans’ subsidy program: “We have to tell them clearly where there are hard limits to protectionism that are not acceptable to us as partners”.
Another boundary in Lösch’s life is not so hard, he says: that between professional and private interests. Similar to his former job as a TV journalist at BR, he can hardly escape “his topics” as a rule when he watches the Tagesschau on the couch in the evening.
Sometimes he also gets annoyed about the way things are discussed. His profession is not just a means to earn money. Trying to reconcile economic and climate issues is a social task to which he wants to contribute. A few days ago, he was in the port of Rotterdam and took a look at the hydrogen network that is currently being built there. It was a “super day” that made him more hopeful that Europe will soon make faster progress. Paul Meerkamp
Our soil is supposed to store CO2, even more than our forests. But in the meantime, the soil – even in Germany – is emitting more greenhouse gas than it is storing. According to the EU Commission, 70 percent of soils in the EU are in poor condition. That’s why it wants to protect the soil better by law. It has already failed once, but is now making a new attempt. Farmers don’t think that’s a good idea; they’d rather solve the problem locally, as my colleague Timo Landenberger found out.
Observers in many neighboring countries also thought it was not a good idea when Italians elected Georgia Meloni as their country’s first female Prime Minister. The fears were great. What could be expected from a post-fascist politician and her Fratelli d’Italia party? She certainly didn’t mess with the EU. On the contrary, a directionless EPP in Parliament could seek support from Meloni. At least that is the opinion of Giovanni Orsina, director of the School of Government at the University Luiss-Guido Carli in Rome, with whom Isabel Cuesta spoke to analyze Meloni’s current prospects.
The Federal Press Office also takes an argumentative perspective. It wants to reach voters where they are – on Facebook. The fact that Facebook may not be complying with EU rules on cookies is not a matter for the press office, it believes. The Federal Data Protection Commissioner sees things differently and has prohibited the office from utilizing the site. The matter will now be settled by the Cologne Administrative Court.
There is a good chance that EU defense ministers will be able to approve the two-billion-euro procurement program for artillery ammunition today, Monday. The EU ambassadors had found a basis for a political agreement, diplomats expressed confidence on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, China’s President Xi Jinping is traveling to Russia this week, the first time since the Ukraine war began. The former head of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, expects Xi and Putin to show unity there. Europe should also show unity – says Ischinger.
I wish you a successful week,
In an open letter to the European Commission, the Soil Health Coalition calls for an ambitious EU law to protect soil health. Effective soil protection is the basic prerequisite for successful climate protection, the restoration of nature and biodiversity, a good water supply and food security, the letter says.
The alliance includes more than 250 representatives from business, science and civil society, among them the German Federation of the Organic Food Industry (BÖLW), the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) and the European Environmental Bureau, as well as food companies such as Nestlé and Unilever.
The specific demands are:
“An ambitious EU soil protection law is not only ecologically necessary, but also makes economic sense”, explains NABU expert Simon Krämer. Monitoring and protecting soil health would become increasingly inexpensive, while the rapid deterioration of its condition would cause ever higher costs for the environment, the economy and society.
Soils, for example, represent the largest CO2 reservoir on land, ahead of forests. According to calculations by NABU, one ton of newly formed humus removes around 1.8 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. “But even in Germany, where we still have very good soils in proportion, they are increasingly moving from storage to emitters, losing an average of 0.19 metric tons of CO2 per hectare per year”, says Krämer. In other countries, including France, the situation is much worse.
Particularly problematic: water management. In fact, the average annual amount of precipitation in Germany has been increasing for decades. At the same time, groundwater levels are at worrying lows. In agriculture, large-scale irrigation systems have to be used, and drinking water suppliers are sounding the alarm.
How does that fit together? “We don’t have less precipitation overall, but it’s raining less frequently and more heavily”, says Krämer, describing the situation. The increasingly hydrophobic soils, however, are less and less able to process this rainfall. There is a lack of root systems, of organic material, of life that loosens the soil, he says. “The soils are like welded shut. Biologically dead”.
The result: flooding, erosion, a decline in soil fertility and thus in crop yields, and even desertification. “In Germany, we have not yet reached this tipping point in many regions and can achieve record harvests through maximum fertilization”, says Krämer. As a result, he says, sensitivity to the problem among farmers is not yet very pronounced. This is different in the USA, where the drought is already more advanced and with it the transformation of agriculture.
The EU Commission is aware of the problem. Seventy percent of the soils in the EU are in poor condition. The reason for this is unsustainable cultivation, overuse and overfertilization, according to the Brussels authority. In its soil strategy of November 2021, the Commission announced a corresponding law, which it intends to present in June.
The strategy aims to reduce soil pollution by 2050 to the point where there is no longer any danger to humans or the environment and as many natural soil functions as possible can be fulfilled. The Commission’s targets also include reducing the use of fertilizers by at least 20 percent.
The German government welcomes the initiative. The national regulations, including the existing level of protection in Germany, are not sufficient, says the Ministry for the Environment. The increasing challenges posed by climate change, for example, can only be met on a cross-national basis. A harmonized approach was also agreed upon in the coalition agreement. This could “help, for example, to protect the production of agricultural products in Germany from distortions of competition caused by unequal levels of protection”, explains the BMUV.
“Agriculture does not need an EU soil protection directive. A central Brussels set of rules on this would even be counterproductive“, counters Udo Hämmerling, deputy secretary general of the German Farmers’ Association (DBV). “The concrete decision on the management of fields and meadows can only be made by the farmer in relation to the location, not centrally in Brussels or Berlin authorities”. After all, farmers have a direct self-interest in maintaining and improving soil fertility, he said. Every field is different, which would be disregarded by centralized regulations.
In fact, the European Union already made an attempt to introduce an EU law on soil protection between 2008 and 2014 – and failed, primarily due to the subsidiarity principle. This is one of the reasons why the Commission wants to carry out a close examination, make the law a directive and “ensure that national and regional solutions can be applied if this makes more sense”.
In her first five months in office, Giorgia Meloni has shown herself to be a moderate and responsible head of government on national and international issues. And since she currently has no serious rivals to fear inside or outside her coalition government, she may even contribute to Italy’s stability. A possible alliance with Manfred Weber’s European People’s Party (EPP) could also secure a relevant position for the Italian prime minister in Europe in the 2024 European elections.
The Meloni phenomenon can be explained from several perspectives. She has benefited from the fact that a society disenchanted with politics is now looking for answers in a right-wing party like the Fratelli d’Italia (FdI). Meloni has modernized the party and oriented it toward a pro-European and Atlanticist discourse. In recent polls, Fratelli D’Italia has consolidated its position as the strongest force in the country, with a 30 percent share. By contrast, its coalition partners, Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (FI) and Matteo Salvini’s Lega, together scored only 16 percent.
“The crisis of Berlusconism has matured and concluded“, says Giovanni Orsina, director of the School of Government at the University Luiss-Guido Carli in Rome. “Berlusconi’s ability to dominate the right-wing coalition is coming to an end”. First, he said, there was Salvini from 2018 to 2019 and now Meloni. “The historically right-wing electorate has reconstituted itself”, Orsina says, “but not around the center-right of Berlusconi, but around the right-wing forces”. (Read the full interview with Giovanni Orsina in German here.)
But a withdrawal of Berlusconi from the political stage would not benefit Meloni, Orsina says. “The moment Berlusconi leaves politics, chaos would reign at Forza Italia. Meloni is interested in stability. At the moment, Berlusconi guarantees stability“.
For the future, Meloni could try to position herself more broadly and move more to the center. “However, the decision to serve this whole spectrum, as Berlusconi has done, could weaken Meloni. Because she would have to satisfy all positions”, says Luca Verzichelli, president of the Italian Political Science Association.
The opposition is fragmented: Matteo Renzi’s and Mario Calenda’s centrist Terzo Polo currently has eight percent, while the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the Partito Democratico (PD) each have around 17 percent. The PD is just beginning to realign itself with its new leader Elly Schlein.
Paradoxically, the fact that there are currently no serious rivals to Meloni shows both a crisis of democracy and an opportunity. “There is no alternative to Meloni right now, and there won’t be, at least not until the 2024 elections”, Orsina says. “Meloni could run on substantive policy initiatives instead of getting lost in the politics of the day”.
The professor of contemporary history emphasizes that, while democracy may be weakened by the lack of alternatives to Meloni, at least there is a government that has received a clear electoral mandate. This is significant progress compared to a year ago.
On average, a new government is formed in Italy every 13 months. “Meloni’s government has a good chance of lasting until the end of the legislative period – provided there are no unforeseen twists and turns. Which is always possible in Italy”, Verzichelli says.
Moreover, fears about Meloni and her party’s origins in the post-fascist spectrum have so far proved largely unfounded. “Ideologically, Meloni has nothing at all to do with fascism today”, Orsina says. But this does not change the fact that the FdI has a different idea of Europe, Verzichelli explains. “But that’s democracy and diversity of opinion on the one hand, and on the other, the party knows full well that Italy functions well within the EU”.
Meloni shows political responsibility and a pro-European stance in cooperation at the EU level. Both economically, by following Draghi’s line, and in her solidarity with Ukraine.
The good relationship between Meloni and Weber is evident. It remains to be seen whether an alliance between the EPP and the FdI will form for the 2024 EU elections – or after. Despite Berlusconi’s missteps with his statements on Ukraine, Weber insists on his support for Forza Italia.
“The EPP is now faced with the question of which party it wants to be: does it want to be a center-right force that opens dialogue with the conservatives? Or does it want to be a center force that allies itself with the liberals and social democrats? This is a political struggle within the EPP“, Orsina analyzes.
So the question is whether it will be possible to restore the “maggioranza Ursula” – as the majority coalition in the EU Parliament between the EPP, the Social Democrats and the Liberals in Italy is called. There is a part of the EPP that sees Meloni as an ally who can balance the balance of power in the EU Parliament.
“There is no dumber saying than ‘The market settles everything on its own’”,thinks Holger Lösch. The 59-year-old is the deputy managing director at the Federation of German Industries (BDI). “Politicians have to set the goals and the framework”. A good example, he says, is the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). With “pragmatic tax credits”, the Biden administration is making the US “one of the most competitive places in the world for green hydrogen production”, Lösch says. Germany and Europe need an “effective response” to the IRA, Lösch said, referring to the further development of the National Hydrogen Strategy, which is disappointing for the BDI.
So full steam ahead for industrial policy and state dirigisme? Lösch doesn’t want that either. For the exact path to implementation – for example, climate neutrality – the market mechanisms are clearly superior. The BDI study “Climate Paths 2.0”, which Lösch supervised two years ago, shows one way. The key findings: The transformation to a climate-neutral industrialized country is possible, and the German targets for 2030 and 2045 can be met “with rapid action”.
Lösch has been working for the industry association, which represents 100,000 German companies with its members, since 2008. As Deputy Chief Executive Officer, he is responsible for five departments with a combined staff of around 50. One of these is the Energy and Climate Policy Department. In this respect, Lösch is simultaneously concerned about persistently high energy prices and the threat of climate catastrophe: “A plus-four-degree world would certainly not be a paradise for entrepreneurs either”. In his view, however, Europe is getting bogged down too much in detailed regulation, for example on which technologies lead to the goal.
As a result, “in terms of implementation, we’re not at the point where we want to be”. One lever to change that, he said, is to speed up planning and permitting processes. “If we want three times as much renewables as we currently have, we can’t do it in the existing system”. The US IRA, he said, could serve as a model for how to simply – through tax credits, for example – provide more speed. A high-ranking US official once said to him about the differences in mentality between US and EU climate policy: “You do things that are deep green, we do things that are cash green”.
The saying has haunted him ever since – and is true when you look at how wind turbines are sprouting up in Republican-ruled Texas, of all places. However, he criticizes the foreclosure elements in the Americans’ subsidy program: “We have to tell them clearly where there are hard limits to protectionism that are not acceptable to us as partners”.
Another boundary in Lösch’s life is not so hard, he says: that between professional and private interests. Similar to his former job as a TV journalist at BR, he can hardly escape “his topics” as a rule when he watches the Tagesschau on the couch in the evening.
Sometimes he also gets annoyed about the way things are discussed. His profession is not just a means to earn money. Trying to reconcile economic and climate issues is a social task to which he wants to contribute. A few days ago, he was in the port of Rotterdam and took a look at the hydrogen network that is currently being built there. It was a “super day” that made him more hopeful that Europe will soon make faster progress. Paul Meerkamp
