N. Peter Kramer’s Weekly Column
They warn that the existing targets are putting pressure on the EU economy and affecting the competitiveness of industry. The appeal was signed by the prime ministers of Italy and five east-European memberstates Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria. According to the signatories the current EU climate policy is driven too much by ideology and too little by economic reality.
The six state that EU competitiveness has seriously deteriorated. This would be the direct result of Brussels decisions taken during Commissioner Frans Timmermans ‘reign’ on the basis of ideology rather than facts’. They call it ‘ideological dogmatism’. According to the letter this policy mainly affects core sectors of the EU economy. Industry and automotive sector are explicitly mentioned. These sectors are having a hard time due to the current regulatory framework that enforces full decarbonisation.
The EU has placed an extremely high price on climate neutrality. So high, in fact, that according to the six the EU seems to ‘destroy its most important industries’. The car industry in particular is mentioned. They don’t advocate scrapping of climate targets. The importance of sustainability is also not denied. ‘We can and we must pursue our climate goals in an effective way without destroying our competitiveness. There is nothing green about an industrial desert’, the letter says.
The call by the six is about ‘common sense’ back in policy!
