Dispute over ETS and CBAM + Macron’s nuclear plans + Trouble for Google

As everyone knows, during the pandemic, a safe distance should be maintained from others. Vladimir Putin took this very seriously when he received Emmanuel Macron in the Kremlin last Monday: A table with a length of about four meters separated the two presidents. As Reuters now reported, citing French government officials, Putin had given his guest a choice: Macron should either accept a PCR test by Russian medics – or just maintain distance. “But we could not accept that they get their hands on the president’s DNA,” Paris said.

Thus, Putin’s concern about an infection simultaneously provided photos symbolizing the political distance between Moscow and the West. For Macron, however, the meeting in the Kremlin provided a welcome opportunity to present himself as an important leader. After all, the French president is in the middle of his election campaign, even though he has still not made his candidacy official. Yesterday, he stepped in front of the cameras in Belfort to present his climate and energy policy plans. These essentially include a relaunch of the French nuclear program, as Tanja Kuchenbecker reports from Belfort.

Nuclear power, that is France’s version of the energy transition and its answer to the gas price crisis. The enormous increase in electricity and heating bills is also throwing the EU’s climate protection plans into disarray. Poland and other member states are demanding that emissions trading not be extended to include buildings as planned. Yesterday in the Environment Committee, the European Parliament’s rapporteur, Peter Liese, sharply rejected these demands: “Putin and the oligarchs would be happy if we didn’t implement the Fit for 55 package,” he said. Lukas Scheid and Stephan Israel have more on the story.

Havea pleasant rest of the week, if possible, without excessive distance to your fellow human beings.

Your
Till Hoppe