- Net-Zero Industry Act: Commission sets ambitious targets for climate technology
- EU debt rules: Member states postpone dispute
- CSA Regulation: Germany sharply criticizes Johansson proposal
- Combustion engine phase-out: Commission negotiates with German government
- Simson pushes for strict methane rules
- Kaili: Two more months in custody
- UN states agree on ocean treaty
- Column: Why data stinginess leads to the digital sidelines
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was asked at the cabinet meeting in Meseberg whether Ursula von der Leyen had his support for a second term in office. The Commission President was standing right next to him. She reportedly has not yet decided whether she wants to do the back-breaking job for another five years. But she may well have taken the Chancellor’s words as encouragement to throw her hat into the ring for the post of top candidate in the Christian Democratic party family EPP: “I think,” Scholz said with regard to the EPP, “they’re sticking to the top candidate principle,” he said with his mischievous Scholz smile.
Very specific was von der Leyen toward the German cabinet: She presented what measures Brussels has up its sleeve to keep clean-tech industries in Europe and boost the competitiveness of European businesses. For my analysis, I was able to take a look at the draft of the Net-Zero Industry Act, which the Commission plans to adopt in mid-March.
For his analysis on the reform of the EU debt rules, Christoph Roche has obtained a preliminary draft of the conclusions of the meeting of finance ministers. His verdict: The ministers will not continue the debate before the regular EU summit in late March. But the dispute is likely to flare up again when the Commission presents its proposal after the summit.
Commissioner Ylva Johansson wants online and telecommunications service providers to screen their content for depictions of child sexual abuse. In his analysis, Falk Steiner describes how opinions on the CSA proposal are forming in the European Parliament and that criticism of the plans is also coming from unexpected sides.
Markus Grabitz
Feature
Net-Zero Industry Act: Commission sets ambitious targets for climate technologies
At the closed meeting in Meseberg, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented measures to the German cabinet with which the Commission intends to strengthen industry competitiveness in key technologies of the Green Deal. “It’s about defending the leading position of European companies in the clean-tech sector also in the face of massive US tax breaks through the IRA.” He said that in the case of cars, access to the US market for European manufacturers has already been successfully secured. “For batteries and other components, we still have to work on a solution,” von der Leyen said at a press conference with Olaf Scholz.
Scholz had earlier met with US President Joe Biden. On the sidelines of Scholz’s meeting with Biden, there was talk that an agreement between the EU and the US in the dispute over subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was close. Officials from the US government and the EU Commission are reportedly working on an agreement that would qualify European battery minerals for tax credits in the US. The deal could be announced as early as Friday when Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visits the White House.
Von der Leyen announces new clean tech funding
The Commission President also announced a larger package for competitiveness, which the Commission will present in the form of a communication in mid-March. The aim is also to remove hurdles in the single market, strengthen the industrial base and address the shortage of skilled labor. She also referred to trade agreements with Australia, Mexico and Mercosur, which the Commission still wants to conclude by the end of the mandate.
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