In September, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled her vision for the next European Commission, dishing out twenty-six portfolios and a revamped leadership structure for the European Union’s (EU’s) executive arm. The Commission’s political guidelines, released this summer and now followed with more concrete plans for the next five years, make for a thought-provoking read for both sides of the Atlantic. Read together, it amounts to an ambitious agenda for achieving sustainable prosperity. The EU is looking to address its multiple, simultaneous challenges and priorities concurrently: social and economic wellbeing, enhancing security, and addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
The EU taking this ambitious approach was not a given. Concerns have swirled across Europe over the bloc’s commitment to climate action and sustainability amid a growing political focus on competitiveness and security over the past couple years. There have been worries over the future of the European Green Deal, the EU’s sustainable growth strategy of the past five years. Right-wing politicians have criticized it. Far-right influencers have spread mis- and disinformation about climate change, and conservative politicians, including some members of von der Leyen’s own party, have pushed false claims about the EU’s climate and environmental policies.
What to expect over the next five years
In her proposal for the new European Commission, von der Leyen makes it unequivocally clear: The European Green Deal continues to guide EU action, and addressing the climate crisis remains central to the bloc’s activities. Moving forward, the Commission plans to integrate the goals of the Green Deal across all policy areas and focus on implementation. It has put delivering on the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals squarely on its agenda, and commissioners are expected to contribute to achieving climate and sustainability objectives when developing and implementing EU laws. Importantly, von der Leyen has instructed all commissioners to tackle disinformation within the EU, signaling that this Commission intends to act on science rather than on irresponsible rhetoric.
The Commission’s political guidelines, published in July, laid the foundation for its work over the next five years. The letters to the twenty-six commissioner candidates clarified the plans further. Competitiveness is not a standalone agenda. Economic and industrial strategies are necessary, but they must be aligned with the EU’s sustainability goals. Security and defense are essential, but so is the health of the planet and the environment, as well as ensuring European citizens and businesses can benefit from the green transition. By framing the clean and just transition and competitiveness as complementary goals, the new Commission is demonstrating its commitment to achieving sustainable prosperity that benefits the planet, people, and businesses.
Planned actions
The Commission’s plans, as laid out in these documents, provide an inspiring read for responsible leaders—politicians, policymakers, businesses, media, and other opinion influencers—on both sides of the Atlantic looking to enhance sustainable prosperity. They acknowledge the geopolitical risks, the impacts of import dependencies, and the pressures that companies and people are facing—but also recognize the urgent need to address the planetary crisis. The Commission’s plans provide a comprehensive starting point for addressing today’s complex challenges, carrying the potential to address the multiple short- and long-term priorities for the economy, security, society, and the planet—all at the same time.
The following examples illustrate how the Commission aims to turn its ambitions into action:
- Single market: The Commission recognizes that a functioning “single market is key to competitiveness” but also a tool for meeting its climate and environmental goals. It aims to enhance efforts to “develop a single market for sustainable products” and use tools such as public procurement to achieve its goals.
- Circular economy: A significant emphasis is placed on advancing the circular economy to “boost [the EU’s] competitiveness and build a healthier planet.” This involves keeping products and valuable materials in circulation through processes such as repair, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling. Envisaged efforts include creating “market demand for secondary raw materials and a single market for waste,” and thus improve access to also “critical raw materials.”
- Sustainable transport: To make European transport more competitive, sustainable, and accessible, the Commission lists several action points including a “swift build-up of charging infrastructure” to electrify road transport, as well as making corporate car fleets clean and using digitalization to modernize the transport system.
- Healthy environment and natural capital: These are recognized as an “intrinsic part” of climate action, security, competitiveness, and food security. The envisaged incentives for nature-positive actions, efforts to boost private financing for nature, and work on nature credits can be expected to be aligned with the recently adopted Nature Restoration Law.
- Agriculture and food systems: A more comprehensive approach to improving the European food system as a whole, and the call to “strengthen the competitiveness, resilience, and sustainability of the agricultural sector” within “the boundaries of our planet,” demonstrate the Commission’s willingness to address the existing incoherencies in the EU’s agricultural policy.
- Clean energy transition: The Commission will continue focusing on energy efficiency, as well as the deployment of renewables and energy storage. It plans to address inefficiencies in the building sector, which can address both energy poverty and the climate crisis. It mentions small modular nuclear reactors and carbon capture utilization—as well as storage—as specific areas for development. It looks to “rid [the EU of its] dependencies on fossil fuels,” including by phasing out “the use of fossil fuel subsidies.”
- Strategic use of taxation: While the plans mention using taxation to “incentivize the uptake of clean technologies,” arguably the call for the “strategic use of taxation measures” also opens the door to taxing harmful, polluting practices in alignment with the EU’s polluter pays principle.
- Trade: The enforcement of trade agreements will include a specific focus on climate, environmental, and labor rules. Measures “to prevent non-EU-compliant products from entering the EU market” will be strengthened.
- Sustainable finance: The Commission will continue to promote, scale up, and implement sustainable finance, while aiming to ensure the EU’s global leadership in this field.
Turning words into action will require courage and leadership
While these plans are ambitious, they are not without limitations. The Commission could have proposed more concrete measures to ensure a just transition, particularly for the most vulnerable. The EU doesn’t just need a single market for sustainable products—it also needs one for sustainable services, which hasn’t received sufficient attention. The plans could have been clearer on turning digitalization, data, and digital solutions, into enablers for sustainability. The Commission should recognize that the prospects for climate-induced migration provide a strong rationale for enhancing climate action and climate financing beyond its borders. Moreover, the links between new trade agreements and climate and environmental goals could be stronger.
Furthermore, these plans mark only the beginning. Each commissioner must now be confirmed by the European Parliament, and their responsibilities better defined, given overlapping portfolios. Although time is of the essence, turning the set priorities into concrete actions will be a complex task. Expect political tensions and tugs-of-war on the Commission’s upcoming policy proposals in the European Parliament and across member states. International partners will undoubtedly push back when the EU measures affect them, as has been the case with the carbon border adjustment mechanism and the deforestation regulation, which underscores the importance of EU communication about envisaged actions and global engagement. The Commission will likely be repeatedly pressured to compromise on science-based policies in favor of political expediency.
Maintaining progress will require political courage and responsible leadership. The Commission must resist the pressure from politicians and businesses that have strong vested interests to maintain business as usual. Addressing mis- and disinformation campaigns and upholding the Green Deal’s priorities will be essential to achieving the EU’s goals.
A call for transatlantic cooperation
The Commission’s proposed structure and priorities send a clear message to the rest of the world, especially the United States: The EU is committed to the green transition and making its energy, food, and mobility systems, as well as its production and consumption patterns, more sustainable. Its envisaged policies and initiatives, the implementation of existing rules, and the use of financial and economic incentives reflect this ambition. It wants to create a market for sustainable solutions and ensure that European businesses can be competitive solution-providers in the growing global market. The EU recognizes that the green transition is now central to great power competition, including vis-à-vis China, and it looks to join this race with the allies and tools it has.
The question is if the United States wants to join forces with the EU to embrace and spearhead this transition. The alternative—clinging to the past, ignoring the complexity of today’s challenges and the benefits of cooperation, and doubling down on antiquated, costly solutions such as fossil fuels and gas cars—would be a missed opportunity for transatlantic collaboration and risk making the United States an outlier among global economies.
The EU is sending a signal from the heart of Europe, one that offers significant opportunities for transatlantic cooperation in creating a more sustainable and prosperous future for all. The EU is looking for allies and solutions to achieve its goals. Leaders, businesses, and policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic have a unique opportunity to harness the benefits of this collaboration. The Commission’s vision and plans for the next five years provide a source of inspiration for those seeking a path to sustainable prosperity.
Annika Hedberg is a nonresident senior fellow at the Europe Center.
Further reading
Wed, Oct 9, 2024
European defense industrial woes need a transatlantic remedy
New Atlanticist By Kristen Taylor, Luka Ignac
To ensure its security, the European Union should collaborate more closely with the United States on defense industrial production.
Mon, Oct 7, 2024
Looking ahead to the next chapter of US-EU digital collaboration
Report By Frances Burwell
There are opportunities for further transatlantic collaboration, especially in addressing emerging technologies and the risks both sides face from bad actors in the digital sphere.
Mon, Oct 7, 2024
Treating the green transition like the geopolitical imperative it is
Report By Carol Schaeffer
Policymakers should adopt a NATO-style approach to long-term decarbonization and work to boost the green economies of the United States and the EU together.