Yesterday in Strasbourg (July 18), at the first plenary session since the June European elections, MEPs voted to reconfirm Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission. Having been proposed as a candidate by EU leaders in June, President von der Leyen’s term in office will now run until 2029.
President von der Leyen’s re-election by Parliament was prefaced by in-depth negotiations with the leading Parliament political groups, which has contributed to the ‘Political Guidelines’ of the President – the political mandate for her term. This morning, ahead of the vote, President von der Leyen also gave a speech in the plenary chamber.
“President von der Leyen’s re-election offers a welcome stability for Europe, recognising her critical role in guiding the continent through the wave of crises in recent years“, Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe said.
„Green competitiveness is the launchpad to sustainable growth“
The President’s speech in plenary would confirm that delivering the Green Deal remains a priority under the new Commission mandate, with a focus on implementation and investment. This is good news for Europe and for the energy transition.
Also interesting: E-car boom in Norway
„Europe’s energy, security, and climate goals are dependent on taking new steps in accelerating energy system flexibility and electrification. We’re facing deep system change that will bring incredible benefits – but it needs political commitment“, Hemetsberger underlined.
„Green competitiveness is the launchpad to sustainable growth. We’re pleased to see the new EU Clean Industrial Deal, reflecting our June letter supported by over 550 signatories from across society and the economy. Our modelling shows that renewables and flexible electrification will reduce energy costs by 25% in 2030 and 33% by 2040, structurally shielding European business and industry from further fossil fuel volatility, and building a new era of clean competitiveness and prosperity.“
„In establishing her new College of Commissioners, we urge President von der Leyen to acknowledge the need for Europe to rapidly accelerate its energy flexibility and electrification plans“, Hemetsberger said.
Scaling-up investments in low-carbon green infrastructure
“Von der Leyen set out a pragmatic, yet ambitious agenda for the next five years to address the new challenge landscape the EU is facing with geopolitical tensions, sharpened industrial competition, on top of the impacts from increasingly extreme weather”, said Eurelectric’s Secretary General, Kristian Ruby.
“Competitiveness and prosperity are the new buzzwords for this Commission, along with a renewed emphasis on defence and energy security. While missing from her speech this morning, her political guidelines recognise grid infrastructure as a key technology in need of higher investments. This is a key aspect for the power sector who has been very vocal on the need to speed up investments in grid infrastructure to the tune of €67 billion of annual investments in distribution grid from 2025 to 2050, as shown in the Grids for Speed study”, Ruby said.
“In particular, Eurelectric welcomes von der Leyen`s announcement of a new Clean Industrial Deal to keep industry competitive while decarbonising. We support the call for implementing the Green Deal and positively note the reference to scaling-up investments in low-carbon green infrastructure as well as the creation of a Savings and Investment Union to back this vision with the necessary financial means”, added Ruby.
Not undermine investment certainty by backtracking the 2035 internal combustion engine ban
While announcing the 90% 2040 target will be enshrined in European Climate Law in her speech, von der Leyen signalled some backtracking on the de facto 2035 internal combustion engine ban. Her guidelines confirm e-fuels should play a role in the transport sector beyond 2035.
This move was commented by Eurelectric’s Policy Director, Cillian O’Donoghue: “We agree industry needs predictability. Any backtracking [on the 2035 ICE ban] would undermine investment certainty. As an industry we’ll need to put in place the charging stations and build the necessary grid infrastructure to enable the rollout of EVs. We need predictability for that.”
The power sector would stand ready to play its part in decarbonising industry and increasing the EU’s energy security with a more resilient infrastructure and homegrown clean generation, he said. (hcn)
