Social taxonomy + Lithium mining in Saxony + SPD and Russia • Europe.Table

Social taxonomy: Is a new dispute looming?
Lithium mining in Saxony: silence in Zinnwald
European Court of Auditors calls for improvements in energy taxation
DSA: Confidence determines the start of the trilogue
EU Commission investigates complaint against DB Cargo
Inquiry report criticizes lockdown parties in Downing Street
Takeover of chip supplier Siltronic on the brink of failure
Martin Haeusling (Greens) on CAP: now it depends on the member states
SPD finds stance on Russia

Dear reader,

The discussion about the green EU taxonomy is in full swing, now the next taxonomy project could cause conflicts. The expert group “Platform on Sustainable Finance” will present its final report on the social categorization of economic activities this month. The EU Commission must then decide how to deal with the suggestions on the social taxonomy. The experts are expected to propose a dual categorization. “Sounds complicated? It is,” as Silke Wettach reports.

125,000 tons of lithium – a raw material that is urgently needed to achieve the climate targets of the Green Deal – are presumably located on the German side of the Zinnwald in the Ore Mountains. Mining is scheduled to begin in 2025. Unlike in Spain, in Saxony, there are hardly any protests from the population against the mining plans. Nevertheless, it is a project with hurdles, as Christian Domke-Seidel reports. And one about which those responsible are currently persistently silent.

German policy in the conflict with Russia has been sharply criticized for weeks, especially in the US but also in other European countries. The German government is seen as an unreliable fellow in the Western camp, above all its social democratic part. This image seems to have solidified to such an extent that it has so far gone unnoticed that this is no longer the case. SPD Chairman Lars Klingbeil has brought his party into line – and thus straightened out the West’s front against Vladimir Putin for the time being, as Till Hoppe analyzes.

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Sarah Schaefer

Feature

Social taxonomy: Is a new dispute looming?

In February, a group of experts convened at the request of the EU Commission will present its final report on the social categorization of economic activities. The goal: to provide guidance for investors on sustainable financial products. Like the green taxonomy, the project is fraught with conflict.

The green taxonomy is followed by the social taxonomy: Although the paper of the expert group “Platform on Sustainable Finance” is a non-binding document, some industries fear that it could lead to preliminary decisions. The EU Commission must then decide how to deal with the suggestions.

The final report is likely to look quite similar to the interim report from last summer. In it, the group, with its total of 57 members from companies, associations, civil society, and regulatory authorities, had proposed a dual categorization. First, there is a vertical subdivision that would differentiate products according to their social harm or benefit. Accordingly, infrastructure such as water supply or education would be beneficial, while tobacco would not. On a horizontal scale, the company’s behavior would be assessed, regardless of its product, such as working conditions and attitude toward consumers.

Sounds complicated? It is, especially since there are no scientific criteria for all these criteria – unlike the green taxonomy. International standards such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and the EU’s Social Pillar could be used.

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