Centre-right has renounced Green Deal, claims Timmermans
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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
5 days ago
- Euronews
Lead MEP says EU should skip 2040 emissions targets
The EU's 2040 emission reduction target is 'simply not necessary' and should be rejected, the Czech MEP responsible for steering the proposal through the Parliament has told Euronews in an interview. Ondrej Knotek is a member of the far-right Patriots for Europe (PfE) group and was appointed as rapporteur to steer through the Parliament a Climate Law amendment setting the 2040 goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The European Commission formally proposed a 90% carbon emissions reduction target by 2040 in an amendment to its Climate Law earlier in July, as a pathway to achieving zero emissions by 2050. Knotek said that when drafting the Parliament's position on the file in the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI), he will push to reject the Commission's proposal entirely, without proposing any alternative emissions reduction target. 'The 2040 target is an addition to the two existing targets, that is simply not necessary,' he said, referring to the EU's final goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and the intermediate target of a 55% reduction by 2030. Knotek believes the EU has already done much more than its global competitors to combat global warming, and argues that the risks for the European economy and citizens are 'much higher' than the potential contributions to global climate change mitigation. 'Let's wait for the others to have the same two legally binding targets, let's wait for the others to have this third target, and then we can accompany. No one says that Europe needs to be the flagship,' he said. Beyond the 2040 target, Knotek also challenges the entire Green Deal, the EU's long-term plan to reach climate neutrality by 2050. 'The target as such looked realistic in 2020, but now, after five years, we know that very probably it is not so much realistic,' he said, calling for a 'strong recalibration' of the EU's commitments. 'The correct reaction to the climate change is to reduce the emissions in a sustainable, and even slow way [...] We don't have to invest into faster reduction of emissions, but into the so-called adaptation to the climate change. The role of adaptation should be much higher than the reduction of greenhouse gases.' A clash foreseen on the Climate Law Ondrej Knotek will be supported by his political group, PfE, which strongly opposes EU climate action, and likely by other right-wing parties in Parliament. But dismantling this signature EU climate policy will not be an easy task. Knotek's appointment, which results from a complex allotment system giving large groups control over important files, has already triggered backlash from leftist and centrist members of Parliament. Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, the Greens/EFA, and The Left will advocate for maintaining the 2040 target. Therefore, the Parliament's position on the file will depend on the choice of the largest group, the European People's Party (EPP). 'EPP MEPs are split on this issue. I am convinced that if they are left to vote freely, the majority of them would be against the 2040 target,' Knotek said. The Czech MEP believes his EPP colleagues will follow the direction of their leader, Manfred Weber. 'In the EPP, if you do not follow the line, you are sidelined and do not get any missions. So, if there would be a secret vote, they could distract, otherwise they stick to the line.' Knotek's report will be voted in the ENVI committee on September 23. Others MEPs from the same committee have until September 8 to add amendments. Parliament's plenary session has then to confirm the outcome in the second week of October. After the vote in Parliament, however, the provision must be negotiated with the EU's 27 member states, which are set to adopt a common position in the Council. Some including France and Poland have already expressed scepticism about the proposal. The timing of negotiations is sensitive, as the Commission hoped to have the 2040 target enshrined in law ahead of the COP30 international climate conference in Brazil, which takes place in November.
Euronews
25-07-2025
- Euronews
Taxpayer group calls for criminal probes of two ex-Commissioners
An EU taxpayer interest group has filed criminal complaints with German domestic prosecutors and the EU Public Prosecutor's Office in Luxembourg against former EU commissioners Frans Timmermans and Virginius Sinkevicius, calling for the pair to be investigated for alleged unlawful payments to NGOs. Both served under European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's first mandate between 2019 and 2024. Dutchman Timmermans was Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Climate Action while Sinkevicius – who's now an MEP - was Commissioner for Environment and Oceans. The complaints were filed this week by the Taxpayers Association of Europe (TAE), a federation of national European taxpayers associations and organisations based in Munich and Brussels. 'There are suspicions that payments may have been made illegally,' according to a statement by the TAE. 'We therefore call for public prosecutors to investigate whether applicable law and the EU's principles of transparency and separation of powers have been violated,' the statement said, adding, 'If funds were transferred without appropriate oversight or involvement of other EU institutions, this would be an unacceptable violation of applicable law.' The complaint relates to media reports alleging that the former EU Commission 'financed non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with substantial sums without transparently disclosing these decisions or adequately explaining them,' TAE President Michael Jäger is cited as saying in the statement. 'We are also concerned with clarifying the general criminal liability of Commission officials for the EU's budgetary assets. A legal vacuum must not arise. Because all Europeans are equal before the law,' the statement said. German media reports on NGO funding German newspaper Welt Am Sonntag claimed in June that the EU executive had secretly paid environmental NGOs up to €700,000 to promote the bloc's climate policy. The Commission denied the allegations of secret payments and a spokesperson told Euronews that the executive exercises a high degree of transparency when it comes to providing funding to NGOs. Last month, three right-wing political groups sought unsuccessfully to establish an investigative committee on the issue at the European Parliament. Instead, the Parliament's political leaders agreed to form a working group within the Committee on Budgetary Control to scrutinise how the Commission funds non-governmental organisations. Meanwhile Transparency International EU director Nick Aiossa told Euronews that the claims of NGO's shadow-lobbying for the Commission have already been debunked. "These are already debunked stories that were circulated in February," said Aiossa, adding, "I simply don't understand why the German press would jump on this, unless, of course, it has a more political agenda behind it from the people who are leaking the contracts." Aiossa said that Commission funding of civil society to participate in public debate is a good thing, that a small circle of right-wing MEPs was responsible for leaking sensitive data to the press, and that Transparency would be filing a legal complaint on the issue. The Welt allegations first surfaced in February, and in April a parliamentary committee voted down a raft of amendments from right-wing lawmakers seeking to incorporate sharp criticism of EU funding for non-governmental organisations into the discharge of the bloc's 2023 budget. The allegations concerned EU funding for environmental NGOs through the LIFE operating grants. These are part of the EU's LIFE programme, a €5.4 billion budget (2021–2027) aimed at financing projects related to green innovation, circular economy, energy efficiency, nature conservation, and pollution reduction. Around €15.6 million of this is allocated to environmental NGOs via operating grants and under this scheme, individual organisations may receive up to €700,000 annually. Grants are awarded through open calls with clear eligibility criteria and NGOs are evaluated not by the Commission directly but by agencies such as, in the case of LIFE , the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Advocacy through lobbying is permitted but not required or directed under the grants. Each grant includes the disclaimer that 'views and opinions expressed' by NGOs 'do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union.' Grant conditions are public, and there is no requirement that applicants align their objectives with Commission interests to receive funding. Court of Auditors described funding system as 'opaque' In short, NGOs retain full autonomy over how they use the money, within legal and contractual boundaries. They are subject to transparency rules, must uphold EU values, and are routinely audited. If they fail to implement their work programmes, funding can be withdrawn. While much of the oversight relies on self-reporting – one of the main pitfalls of the system – the Commission is enhancing its risk-based verification following advice from the European Court of Auditors. In April 2025, the EU auditors labelled the Commission's funding process as 'opaque' and warned of potential reputational risks. However, it found no evidence during a year-long probe of any wrongdoing by either NGOs or European Commission officials. As a result, the Commission last year issued new guidance to prevent EU funding from being used for direct lobbying of EU institutions following these concerns. Jäger told Euronews that he expected to hear preliminary responses from the two prosecutors offices within around three months indicating whether they would consider investigating. According to the TAE, separate criminal complaints have also been filed in Austria in relation to the issue. The Commission, Timmermans and Sinkevicius have been contacted for comment.
France 24
11-07-2025
- France 24
Can the EU's Clean Industrial Deal deliver for Europeans? Juggling competitiveness and green goals
One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. The Green Deal is often seen as the flagship project of the previous EU mandate. But after last year's European elections, in which right-wing parties performed well, the Green Deal was rebranded as the Clean Industrial Deal. There is now more emphasis on industrial revival and competitiveness. MEPs and members of the European Commission say the EU should not have to choose between re-industrialisation and meeting climate objectives, but rather do both. Officially, the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050 remains. In practice, though, how to strike that balance is a bone of contention between competing political forces in the European Union. We dive into what's at stake with two MEPs. Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats and Isabelle Romero
