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The European Commission’s dream of a “green planet” has been a nightmare for farmers, entrepreneurs, and consumers across the EU. A nightmare that is coming to an end, with the November 13 vote by center-right forces in the European Parliament being another nail in the coffin of the Green Deal. It will very soon be six years since the launch of one of the most ambitious plans proposed by the European Commission. “The Green Deal transforms the EU into a modern, competitive, and resource-efficient economy,” a huge promise that can be read on the European Commission’s website. That extraordinary vision of substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transforming Europe into “the first climate-neutral continent,” a true role model for the rest of the world. Through a “fair and sustainable” transition, in less than three decades we would have had a “green planet,” with energy coming almost exclusively from renewable, and therefore “clean,” sources. But what a contrast between dreams and reality!
Realistic political forces have sounded numerous alarms about the obsession with competitiveness, the disconnect from reality, and bureaucratic excesses. In the name of a more “competitive” and “efficient” EU and a green renaissance, we have a Union that is increasingly less competitive, increasingly impoverished, and more and more distant from the real necessities of its own citizens.
Six years after the launch of the Green Deal, things are different from what its supporters have consistently advocated.
On November 13, in the European Parliament, 382 MEPs voted in favor of eliminating absurd bureaucratic burdens imposed on entrepreneurs, compared to only 249 votes against and 13 abstentions. Thus, only companies with more than 1,750 employees and an annual net turnover of more than €450 million would have to report on social and environmental issues, while smaller companies would be exempt from these sustainability reports. The due diligence requirement would only apply to very large companies, which would no longer be required to draw up climate transition plans. Omnibus I, as this package is called, will be negotiated with member state governments in the coming weeks, with the hope that the updated legislation will be ready by the end of the year.
Some see the 13 November vote as a significant victory for the center-right forces in the European Parliament, but this position cannot be based solely on ideological struggle. Reducing some harmful rules applied to small and medium-sized companies and eliminating the obligation to draw up climate transition plans and civil liability clauses is in fact a success for realists and those who support the rebalancing of the European economy on a natural basis. The elimination of burdensome regulations makes it impossible to maintain unrealistic environmental objectives.
The increasingly firm repositioning on climate policies that have proven to be a failure of epic proportions is neither new nor surprising. When, in January, the co-leaders of the ECR group replied in a letter to the head of the PfE that “We remain committed to cooperating with like-minded partners like you to counter the ideological excesses of the Green Deal and advocate for policies that align with Europe’s economic and strategic priorities,” things seemed crystal clear on this side of the political spectrum. The cooperation expanded to include EPP MEPs, who on November 13 decisively tipped the balance in favor of cutting back on far-fetched and destructive regulations. This vote was neither an accident nor a coincidence. It is a signal of a return to normality.
When it became clear that the Green Deal was nothing more than a huge lie, a direct attack on the welfare of European citizens and the competitiveness it was supposed to stimulate, a once beautiful dream began to crumble. You cannot ignore the needs of your own citizens, you cannot impose burdensome costs or absurd restrictions and claim that this is progress. Any vision that is not based on realism and pragmatism will vanish like any other illusion.