State of the Union: Will the new Commission stick to its climate policy goals?

euronews (in English)

This edition of State of the Union focuses on the catastrophic floods in central Europe, the presentation of the EU commissioners-designate and the economic power of the European Green Deal.

Transcript

00:00Hello and welcome to State of the Union, I'm Stefan Grobe in Strasbourg.

00:09We don't normally start this program with the weather, but Central Europe was battered

00:14by so much torrential rain and deadly flooding that it pushed everything else to the back

00:19burner this week.

00:20At least 21 people were killed in four countries when Storm Boris dumped up to five times the

00:26average September rainfall on parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia

00:34in just four days, turning entire regions into disaster zones.

00:39Towns and villages were devastated, hundreds of thousands were forced to evacuate.

00:44National authorities considered emergency funds for the affected areas and the European

00:49Commission in Brussels was also wondering how the EU can support them in repair and

00:54reconstruction, knowing that extreme rainfall becomes more common and intense.

01:01This topic will be of growing importance, so this is something where we really have

01:08together as Europeans to decide how we can manage and finance the growing need of adaptation

01:14and repair that we will see in the years to come.

01:18Working for environmental resilience and transforming Europe's economy into a competitive industrial

01:24might of the future will be the task of the new EU Commission that was La Fondalain presented

01:30this week.

01:31A large chunk of that task will land on the desk of one of her top nominees, Spain's

01:37Teresa Ribera.

01:39Her portfolio was named Clean, Just and Competitive Transition.

01:44I am very thankful for this invitation to get such a big responsibility that tackles

01:52the economic and industrial challenges for the European business community and the clean,

01:58the green challenges that do define how much, how well, how important is to take into consideration

02:08all the elements together.

02:10When Fondalain announced her new team of commissioners, she reassured reporters that climate change

02:16still dominates the Commission's agenda, together with competitiveness and security.

02:21To discuss all this, let's bring in Susana Karp, Deputy Executive Director of Clean Tech for Europe.

02:27Welcome to the program.

02:28Thank you very much, Stefan.

02:30Happy to be here.

02:31So at the core of the European economic power is the Green Deal, setting the framework for

02:36industries and jobs.

02:38Does the new composition of the EU Commission reflect that?

02:42Absolutely.

02:43If anything, the composition of the new European Commission confirms the policy objectives

02:49set by the EU Green Deal, but looks towards competitiveness as a compass in asking the question,

02:56how are we going to transform our European economy?

03:00And in the way the portfolios have been allocated, we can see quite a clear vision as to how

03:06this will happen.

03:07What's at the core of this vision is how are we going to turn our early leadership

03:13in industrial decarbonisation into long-lasting competitiveness and leadership for Europe

03:19on the global scene?

03:22So in that regard, I would say the portfolios are very telling.

03:28So indeed, where we are right now is moving from the if the Green Deal survives or not

03:35to how are we going to make it happen?

03:38And it's quite a comprehensive strategy, I would say, cutting across multiple portfolios.

03:44So effectively, the Green Deal has been mainstreamed into a new economic vision,

03:50a new economic doctrine.

03:52The centre of gravity of the new European Parliament has shifted to the right.

03:57Are you worried that the Green Deal could be undermined or at least watered down?

04:02No, I don't have this concern.

04:05Certainly not after having read the mission letters, because what we're seeing is that

04:10the objectives are upheld and in some regards even strengthened.

04:14This is quite clear when the reference to the 2040 climate target for the EU is mentioned

04:20in the letter to Commissioner Hoekstra for climate to net zero and clean growth.

04:25So the direction is quite clear, I would say.

04:29I don't think there is any possibility of backtracking.

04:33The Draghi report was criticised by some for lacking the boldness to really drive

04:39the transition towards a green industrial policy.

04:42What's your take?

04:44Interesting.

04:45I thought the analysis of the report was extremely accurate and perhaps the boldness,

04:51the lack of boldness you're referring to is compensated by the bold vision

04:56of this European Commission.

04:58And so I guess, and I think this was the original idea, that the two go in tandem.

05:04What the Draghi report offers is an extremely sobering analysis of where Europe is situated

05:12vis-à-vis its global counterparts.

05:15And it goes into the reasons for that, right?

05:18What's needed now, I think, is the Member States, the Council and the Parliament

05:23to endorse this bold vision and to also be committed to do what it takes for us

05:29to actually secure our long-term competitiveness with Europe.

05:34All right, Susanna Karp, Deputy Executive Director of Clean Tech for Europe.

05:38Thanks for coming on the show today.

05:40Thank you so much.

05:43We started the show with an unusual segment about the weather

05:47and we want to finish it with another one, this time about sport.

05:51The 10th edition of the British Open in Speedgolf took place in Eskett.

05:56Speedgolf is an alternative golf format that adds a more athletic element

06:00to the normally easy-going game and it's getting increasingly popular.

06:05The tournament encapsulated the very essence of sport with an inclusive field

06:10of golf pros competing alongside amateur golfers, women and juniors.

06:17Players were set off at four-minute intervals with the aim of finding

06:21the sweet spot between pace and performance to maximize both.

06:26The fastest 18-hole round was under 24 minutes.

06:30The whole field of 56 players ranging in age from 12 to 58

06:34got their rounds finished in under an hour.

06:38The winner was a 33-year-old amateur from London who later said

06:42he put in the best performance of his life.

06:46Are you getting interested?

06:48The next big event is the World Speedgolf Championships

06:51hosted by Japan in November.

06:54That's it for this edition. I'm Stefan Grober.

06:57Thank you for watching. Have an excellent week.

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