Climate diplomacy and partnership with industry are now the key priorities in EU climate policy / Hearing should be fair and should not be misused for national politics

“I think Vice President for the Green Deal Šefčovič and Climate Commissioner Hoekstra can be a very good team,” said the spokesperson for the environment of the biggest group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats), Peter Liese ahead of the hearings of the two new designated commissioners responsible for the Green Deal and the climate. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed that the acting Vice President Maroš Šefčovič (Social Democrats) should become Executive Vice President and take over the coordination of the Green Deal from Frans Timmermans who left the European Commission. New Commissioner for the climate should be the former Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra.

“While we hold the hearing for a purpose of course and nothing can be known for sure, I am optimistic that both will prove that they are qualified for the job. They reflect the two priorities that are necessary now to get the right balance in European environment and climate policy. Šefčovič is a very pragmatic person and has already proven that he is able to bring things forward together with industry. This is the key challenge for the next months and years. We need convincing climate policy that is also attractive for the rest of the world. This cannot only be based on ambitious targets, we also need to enable industry to decarbonise. A carbon neutral Europe, that has lost all of its industry, will not be a good example for the rest of the world. As Foreign Minister, Wopke Hoekstra has proven that he can deal with complex international negotiations. In contrast to what some people claim, that are not well informed in my view, he already has a lot of experience when it comes to climate policy. In his capacity as foreign affairs minister of the Netherlands, he held talks with international partners to prepare the COP in Dubai. For example, he went to the Emirates as well as to China to talk to the relevant people on climate-related issues. Moreover, he was an active member of ‘Finance Ministers for Climate Action’ in his former position. Here, he was also responsible for raising green bonds in the Netherlands and made it the first triple-A country that used this progressive financial instrument. Already in 2018, the Dutch government with strong involvement of Hoekstra supported a 55% target which in that moment no other member state wanted,” said Liese.

“I hope that the hearing will be what it should be: a test of the qualifications of the candidates and not an instrument to influence the Dutch elections. It should also not be an instrument for some groups in the ENVI Committee to prejudge decisions where the parliament has not yet found a position. Outstanding issues such as the 2040 target have to be carefully discussed, not only in the ENVI Committee but also in other related Committees like the Committees for agriculture or industry, research and energy,” insisted Liese.

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