Centre-right has renounced Green Deal, claims Timmermans
Frans Timmermans reflected on how, in the last legislative term, the Green Deal was a unifying initiative, enjoying political consensus. Now, he said, the far-right parties are pushing for its repeal, while the centre-right is stepping away from it.
Despite this shift, Timmermans remains optimistic, urging politicians to reignite a fresh sense of optimism, pointing to promising trends across Europe.
Radio Schuman featured the press point with some insights on the far-right and the Green deal.
We also discuss today's agenda and how running is igniting a new trend in tourism.
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Euronews
a day ago
- Euronews
European Commission goes on the offensive against NGO accusations
The European commission on Saturday denied German media reports that it had signed 'secret contracts' with environmental NGOs to promote the bloc's climate policy. 'Contrary to media allegations, there are no secret contracts between the European Commission and NGOs,' a commission spokesperson told Euronews. 'The Commission exercises a high degree of transparency when it comes to providing funding to NGOs. The commission's denial comes after German newspaper Welt Am Sonntag claimed that the EU's Executive arm had allegedly secretly paid environmental NGOs up to €700,000 to promote the bloc's climate policy. The paper said it got hold of 'secret contracts' from 2022, which involved well-known NGOs like 'ClientEarth,' and 'Friends of the Earth.' In the Welt Am Sonntag claims, the former allegedly 'received €350,000 'and was supposed to 'entangle German coal-fired power plants in court cases in order to increase the operators' financial and legal risk,' the paper said. The paper also reported that EC officials commissioned the latter to fight against the Mercosur free trade agreement between Europe and South America – 'even though colleagues in their own house were pushing it forward at the same time,' the paper reported. In its statement to Euronews on Saturday, the European Commission underlined that 'NGOs play a crucial role in shaping, monitoring, and enforcing legislation. NGOs also remain fully autonomous and free to establish their own views on all policy matters.' The German report comes at a time when the issue of NGO funding has become an extremely divisive political issue in Brussels. The conservative European People's Party (EPP) has claimed that the Commission instructed NGOs to lobby members of the parliament to further specific policies within the Green Deal, a central political agenda of president Ursula von der Leyen's first term between 2019 and 2024. MEP Monika Hohlmeier (Germany/EPP), told Euronews back in January that her concerns were raised when she examined some 30 funding contracts from 2022 and 2023, as part of the parliament's annual scrutiny of EU budget spending. In January, Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin conceded that some financing from the EU's €5.4 billion environmental programme LIFE may have been inappropriate. 'I have to admit that it was inappropriate for some services in the Commission to enter into agreements that oblige NGOs to lobby members of the European Parliament specifically,' he said. But he also defended the role of NGOs in EU policy making. In April, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) also concluded following a lengthy probe that the Commission's funding of NGOs was 'opaque' and exposed the executive to 'reputational risk.' But the court did not find any breach of EU values from NGOs. To overcome ambiguities, the European Commission issued clear guidance last year to streamline how it provides funding to NGOs. On Saturday, the commission spokesperson told Euronews that EU funding to NGOs was provided 'based on grant agreements, which are complemented by work programmes whose preparation falls under the responsibility of NGOs.' 'As per the guidance, the Commission has instructed its services not to sign off on work programmes if those contain overly specific activities directed at EU institutions or their representatives,' the EC statement added. The institution will take 'further measures,' the spokesperson said, to strengthen transparency and include appropriate safeguards. 'We have been working closely with the European Parliament and the European Court of Auditors to improve this transparency even further. Information on recipients of EU funding, including the names of recipients and amounts, is publicly available on the Commission´s Financial Transparency System website,' the statement said. Argentine President Javier Milei has met with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican on Saturday, where they discussed the importance of urgent efforts towards achieving peace. The Pope and Milei also spoke about bilateral relations, as well as "matters of common interest, such as social-economic progress, the fight against poverty, and the commitment to social cohesion," a statement by the Holy See Press Office noted. After his meeting with the pope, the Argentine President met with the Vatican Secretary of State cardinal Pietro Parolin, accompanied by the Under-Secretary for Relations with States, Reverend Msgr. Mirosław Wachowski. Milei arrived in Rome on Friday, the first stop of his 10-day European tour, where he attended the signing of a natural gas export deal, local media reported. The event was also attended by Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who hosted the Argentine president for a private dinner afterwards. Shortly after his meeting with Pope Leo XIV, Milei departed for Spain, to attend the Madrid Economic Forum. After Spain, the Argentine president will also visit France, and will end his trip in Israel, where he will receive an award in recognition of his support of Israel in a ceremony at the Knesset on 11 June.
France 24
23-05-2025
- France 24
EU needs 'new markets' and 'trade agreements': Commission Executive Vice-President Séjourné
Séjourné maintains that global uncertainty makes it more urgent for the EU to strengthen its single market, simplify and harmonise its internal regulations, and find new trade partners around the world. 'We need to find new markets, and that means new trade agreements,' he says. 'I know that it's not popular in France to talk about trade agreements, but in the current political climate, if we want to reduce our dependence on China, if we want to protect ourselves from a future American market that could close, we absolutely must find new outlets. And at a time when the Americans are making very radical choices, we also need to be very clear about our own European regulations.' Central to that global uncertainty is, of course, President Trump's ever-changing approach to tariffs. On May 23, he threatened a 50 percent tax on all imports from the European Union. 'I don't think we should have a doctrine. You shouldn't be choosing one option or another,' Séjourné opines. 'I'm in favour of not making any definitive proposals until we have an American proposal on the table. And a clearly defined framework for new trade cooperation with the United States. Some sectors will require full reciprocity in terms of tariffs. This is the case for aerospace, for example. If there is a 10 percent tariff on Airbus, there should be a 10 percent tariff on Boeing. But for other sectors, it is not in our interests, our European interests, to reciprocate. I think Europe has pursued these negotiations well. It hasn't made as much noise as the US, but it has been united. ' Given the international context, Séjourné insists that the EU's internal market should become a safe haven for European companies. But he says there are still too many barriers. 'For a French company, to go to Germany or Italy, to market its products, to 'go European throughout' the internal market, is something of an administrative and bureaucratic nightmare,' he says. 'Firstly, because you need to have a subsidiary, to adapt to European law, to adapt to national law, to look at the regulatory differences, and also to look at the differences in the way goods are marketed. We have put in place a number of measures to simplify and harmonise all the regulations.' 'Simplification' is also the watchword when it comes to corporate due diligence reporting. Séjourné is adamant that this streamlining is not, as some NGOs have said, a dismantling of the Green Deal or of environmental standards. 'Under the CSDDD, (the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive) the subcontractor of the subcontractor of the subcontractor also has to be checked by your European company, otherwise you could be liable before the European courts. This raised various problems of legal uncertainty. We put forward a proposal at the start of this EU mandate to stop this legislation and start again from scratch. Now, there is a discussion about overhauling these texts, and Germany and France have made a proposal to abolish them. To do that, we still need a majority, because it's a matter of co-decision between the European Parliament and the Council.' We discuss the electric car market, a central plank of Séjourné's industrial strategy. 'European manufacturers currently have a problem with vehicle orders,' Séjourné explains. 'There are no electric vehicles on the second-hand market today, and we are unable to offer – not only to French consumers, but to all Europeans – cheap vehicles with a life expectancy of two, three or four years, which in reality represent 80 percent of the market in many countries.' He goes on: 'Ending the sale of internal combustion cars (scheduled for 2035) has to be combined with a genuine European purchasing strategy. And we need to boost that strategy, particularly when it comes to sales of electric vehicles, with an increased demand for business vehicle fleets.' Circling back to the Trump administration, Séjourné says he sees an opportunity for attracting American talent to Europe. 'We are committed to increasing our international attractiveness, since there are prospects for bringing in incredible talent, particularly from the other side of the Atlantic, who have found themselves with no money for research. These people are often very experienced, and they could make an enormous contribution to the European economy and to applied research for our industries.
Euronews
23-05-2025
- Euronews
How connected is the EU to its capital, Brussels?
Commissioner for Brussels Alain Hutchinson, credited for building bridges between the EU and its capital, tells Radio Schuman how the once weak ties blossomed into a strong synergy that benefits both. He argued that Brussels, including its public administrations, is more open to accommodating expats, while Eurocrats have started to break out of their bubble. In this episode, we also look at a NATO Parliamentary Assembly in the US state of Ohio as the Trump administration casts doubt over US' defence of NATO allies in Europe. And finally, which countries in Europe get harmed most by the import of fake goods? Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Lauren Walker. Audio editing by David Brodheim. Music by Alexandre Jas. The show is taking a break to brainstorm over bringing you even better content. Thank you for your continued support, and stay tuned!
