EU Updates - June
The Commission’s Plan for a Stronger European Energy Autonomy
The European Commission has strengthened the Union’s path towards a green transition and a stronger energy independence with REPowerEU and a new EU External Energy Strategy.
The first is a plan aimed at reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and allows access to alternative energy supplies at affordable prices. RePowerEU is built around three core priorities: energy savings, diversification of energy supplies, and accelerated roll-out of renewable energy to replace fossil fuels. When it comes to diversifying supplies and supporting international partners, the EC has proposed the creation of an EU Energy Platform to enable voluntary common purchases of gas, LNG and hydrogen. Ambitiously, the Commission will also consider the development of a “joint purchasing mechanism” to allow gas purchasing on the behalf of Member States.
On the other hand, the EU External Energy Strategy is aimed at strengthening the EU’s energy security, resilience and open strategic autonomy by building long-lasting partnerships with suppliers on hydrogen or other green technologies. This effort to step up Europe’s energy diplomacy is also foreseeing the creation of major hydrogen corridors in the Mediterranean and North Sea and support for Ukraine, Moldova, the Western Balkans, and Eastern Partnership countries in their energy efforts, paving the way for future electricity and renewable hydrogen trade routes.
The European Semester Package: How to Enhance Green and Sustainable Recovery in the Face of Increased Uncertainty
On 23rd May, the European Commission released its European Semester Spring Package. The document offers Member States support and guidance for a sustainable and inclusive recovery from COVID-19 and the uncertainties brought about the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Key highlights of this semester forecast include:
A steady growth of the EU economy for 2022 and 2023.
A new landscape has been opened by the Russian war of aggression against, posing also additional challenges to the EU economies related to security of energy supply and fossil fuel dependency on Russia
The pandemic’s macroeconomic and fiscal impact together with the current geopolitical situation create a great uncertainty, that will lead the EC to not open new excessive deficit procedures
The Commission proposes to update the guidelines for Member States' employment policies to focus better on the post-COVID 19 environment, on Just Transition and on measures to enable access to the labour market for people fleeing the war in Ukraine
The 2021 Sustainable Development Goals Report is Out
The statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat) has published its annual report on the progress made towards the SDGs in Europe. The review on the 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations General Assembly is mixed.
The EU is coming up short on SDGs targeting land conservation (SDG15), clean water and sanitation (SDG 6). The report points out, for instance, that the block has intensified “pressures on biodiversity from land take” and describes the conservation status of the EU’s ecosystems as “unfavourable,” with consumption patterns that have “considerable” negative impacts for global biodiversity. At the same time, the overall assessment of progress towards SDG 13 ‘Climate action’ remains more or less neutral, although “monetary losses from weather- and climate-related disasters continue to rise”.
When it comes to inequalities, non-EU citizens have been much more affected by the COVID-19 impacts than home-country nationals. According to the report “the labour market integration of migrants from outside the EU saw a clear drawback in 2020”, with non-EU citizens more exposed to early school leavers, young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET) and lower employment rate.
Due to the time lag of the respective indicators, the assessment for “No Poverty” (SDG 1) and “Good health and well-being” (SDG 3) do not yet reflect the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
