At the opening of the IAA Mobility international motor show in Munich, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised on Tuesday that the EU would “campaign vigorously for free trade agreements.” He said he was confident that, following the conclusion of negotiations with New Zealand and Kenya, “good news” would soon be reported from negotiations with Australia, […]
German Minister of Transport Volker Wissing (FDP) is resisting DG Clima’s call to raise the CO2 reduction requirement for e-fuels. DG Grow had proposed leaving it at the current definition. At the e-fuels conference in Munich, which was organized by the Ministry of Transport, Wissing made a strong case for a workable regulation that would […]
Since the beginning of June, Volker Wissing has been waiting for a response to his letter to Frans Timmermans. In the letter, the Federal Minister of Transport once again insisted on a concrete proposal as to how e-fuels-only internal combustion engines can still be approved after 2035. He has not yet received an answer, as […]
Reform of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) was seen as the centerpiece of the Fit for 55 package. It is intended to achieve a large part of the CO₂ reduction of 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990. This is to be achieved firstly through higher CO₂ prices, by reducing the quantity of emission […]
On Tuesday, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen officially proposed Netherlands’ Wopke Hoekstra as the new commissioner for the fight against climate change. The incumbent foreign minister of the Netherlands is supposed to be in charge of European climate diplomacy – so he will play an important role in the run-up to COP28 and […]
The European chemicals regulation REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) should actually have been revised at the end of last year. But Commission President Ursula von der Leyen bowed to pressure from industry and the European People’s Party (EPP) and postponed the revision by a whole year. The Brussels-based authority now intends to […]
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has officially proposed Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra for the post of Climate Commissioner. The Brussels-based authority announced this after a meeting between the two on Tuesday afternoon. “Mr. Hoekstra showed strong motivation for the post and great commitment to the European Union. He also has relevant professional experience […]
Brussels is slowly waking up from its summer slumber! Political activity in the EU institutions is picking up again this week. It is still more than two weeks until Ursula von der Leyen’s “State of the EU” speech, which marks the political start after the parliamentary summer break. But the first committee meetings and trilogue […]
On Friday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte officially proposed Wopke Hoekstra as EU Commissioner of the Netherlands. The former foreign minister is to succeed Frans Timmermans, who is the leading candidate of an alliance of Social Democrats and Greens in the early parliamentary election on Nov. 22. However, there is a problem with Rute’s succession […]
From Oct. 1, 2023, importers of cement, iron and steel, aluminum, fertilizers, electricity and hydrogen will have to report emissions from the production of their products when they import into the EU. On Thursday, the Commission published the final implementing regulation for the transitional phase of the CBAM until the end of 2025, during which […]