- Taxonomy: Does legal action stand a chance?
- TTDPA expert opinion: consent management possible – with many hurdles
- Hope for climate-neutral energy from nuclear fusion
- Habeck holds out prospect of assuming transformation costs
- Draft report on the Social Climate Fund: less climate, more social issues
- CAP: Lemke in favor of phasing out land subsidies
- Agora: climate clubs only as a supplement
- Study: driving forward climate partnerships with Africa
- Scholz: Nord Stream 2 could be part of the sanctions
- Roberta Metsola: abortion opponent from the liberal wing
Roberta Metsola is the new President of the European Parliament. The European People’s Party’s conservative group’s candidate was elected to the top office yesterday with a clear majority. The Maltese presented herself in campaign clips, among other things, as a champion of LGBT rights, same-sex marriage, and tolerance for different lifestyles in the EU, but is also considered an opponent of abortion. Stephan Israel explores the question of how this fits together.
The supplementary legal act to the Taxonomy Regulation continues to cause a lot of turmoil. Although Germany is opposed to nuclear power, the new federal government cannot reject the act because it relies on gas production. The Commission must nevertheless prepare for trouble. As soon as it formally adopts its delegated act, under which nuclear power is considered sustainable, Austria and Luxembourg plan to file a lawsuit. Charlotte Wirth analyzes whether such a lawsuit would have any chance of success.
Most of us have been annoyed by those pesky cookie banners at one time or another. In the Telecommunications Telemedia Data Protection Act (TTDPA), the German legislature has provided for a standard in Section 26 that is intended to replace them or at least make them much rarer. A research report commissioned by the German government was to prepare the basis for detailed specifications for the design of this section. Torsten Kleinz analyzes the authors’ findings and what this means for the TTDPA.
People have been researching nuclear fusion for more than 60 years. It promises energy in abundance, without fossil fuels, without climate damage, without long-lived nuclear waste. European scientists are leading the way in fusion research. For now. China is investing large sums in research into the new technology and, according to experts, is catching up fast, as Nico Beckert reports.
Eugenie Ankowitsch
Feature
Taxonomy: Does legal action stand a chance?
At the end of the month, the European Commission plans to formally adopt the Taxonomy Delegated Act. The Commission’s proposal is controversial. According to it, investments in gas and nuclear power are to be considered sustainable in the future, provided they meet certain conditions. In this way, President Ursula von der Leyen is accommodating the French Council Presidency in particular, which is hoping for financial injections for nuclear power. On the other hand, Germany is getting into trouble by bundling both energy sources into one act. Although Germany is against nuclear power, the new German government cannot reject the act. After all, it is dependent on the production of gas.
Luxembourg and Austria, in particular, see things differently. Both states have already made it clear: If the delegated act comes into force, they will appeal to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against the classification of nuclear power as sustainable. “This taxonomy is a no-go,” said Luxembourg’s Environment Minister Carole Dieschbourg, for example, in an interview with Europe.Table. She spoke of a “clumsy approach” by the European Commission.
But what might such a lawsuit look like? A legal opinion commissioned by the Austrian government several months ago provides a good impression. The lawyers consulted see good chances for an action for annulment before the ECJ. Such action is based on Article 263 TFEU. It allows member states to bring an action for “lack of competence, infringement of an essential procedural requirement, infringement of the Treaties or of any rule of law relating to their application, or misuse of powers”.
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