Strasbourg, France – 18.07.24: Members of the European Parliament have re-elected Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as President of the EU Commission with a bigger majority than last time. In her speech outlining the political guidelines for the next mandate, she promised to stick to the targets of the EU Green Deal. 

“With Ursula von der Leyen re-elected on the basis of political guidelines reaffirming the central place of the EU Green Deal and its continuity shortly after the adoption of the Strategic Agenda, the EU and its institutions have a clear mandate to tackle the triple climate, biodiversity and pollution crisis,” said Faustine Bas-Defossez, Director of Nature, Health and Environment at the EEB. 

“While the commitment is there on paper, we certainly need more than just implementation. The strong focus on climate cannot come at the expense of necessary actions against the biodiversity and pollution crises, as these issues are intrinsically interlinked. Only by addressing triple crises together can we achieve climate neutrality,” Bas-Defossez concludes. 

“In her speech, von der Leyen referenced hope. The only way to bring it back is through decisive action, including more ambition, investment, implementation and enforcement of commitments. As civil society representatives, we stand ready to work with her on this and will be closely monitoring the next steps,” said Patrick ten Brink, Secretary General of the EEB. 

Ahead of the vote, the EEB sent a letter to von der Leyen urging her to commit to a green and social deal fit for a one-planet economy if she is re-elected. The European Pact for the Future builds on the successes of her flagship project—the EU Green Deal—and outlines the roadmap to drive the necessary changes our societies need to ensure a prosperous future for all. It is an agenda of hope that also aims to reconnect people to the European Project. 

“We need a race to the top, not the bottom. EU competitiveness and a resilient economy depend on accelerating the green transition. Simplification processes should speed up efficiency but not compromise environmental and social protections,” said ten Brink. “Building on the achievements of the EU Green Deal, the next step is to forge a new Green and Social Deal for a sustainable one-planet economy—a European Pact for the Future—that has people’s backs, tackles the triple crisis, and pushes for a clean industry transition.” 

Analysis of Political Guidelines against the Pact (Ask 1, 2 and 11) 

Ask 1—A green and social deal: 

The political guidelines include a strong commitment to continue EU Green Deal. According to von der Leyen, the need for action is clear, and “we must and will stay the course on all our goals, including those set out in the EU Green Deal.”  The focus is on implementing what has been agreed, working closely with all stakeholders, and focusing on our big challenges. “This is why I want to define a set of focused and collective objectives for 2030 and beyond, with clear targets and outcomes in these priority areas,” she said. 

Implementation is not enough, we also need more ambition. 

☹ The 2024-2029 flagship policy package is a Clean Industrial Deal with strong focus on companies and poor reference on the need for the deal to be social. Last mandate, this was the EU Green Deal.   

Ask 2—Triple crisis: 

Climate: 

Commitment to achieve existing targets, clear commitment to climate neutrality, proposal of a new target by 2040 to be enshrined in EU legislation (EU Climate Law) – set at 90%. There is also a strong focus on climate adaptation (and water resilience within it) and a commitment to an EU climate adaptation plan and strong reference to climate resilience. 

Biodiversity: 

Clear reference to international agreement and the need for the EU policies to achieve them:  

“We will focus on incentives and on equitable and efficient implementation, notably to ensure we reach our international biodiversity commitments, such as those taken in the Kunming Montreal Agreement.” 

☹ the Reference to biodiversity is mostly around farmers and farming and framed around the need to reward farmers for their practices. There is no mention of the necessity to bring back pesticides regulation and the need to overhaul the broken CAP. 

Pollution: 

☹ there is no reference to pollution as such – there is no reference to the need to tackle the triple crisis  

☹ There is a commitment to revise REACH and to ‘provide clarity’ on PFAS. BUT it is framed under a chemicals industry package aiming at simplifying the law but not clearly for better protecting citizens from harmful chemicals.

Ask 11—Implement and enforce policies for rule of Law  

there is a commitment to ensure a follow up on enforcement and implementation 

☹ but framing around simplification is dangerous as it is focusing on cutting ‘red tape’ and it targets the EU acquis for the stress test (i.e. environmental legislation) instead of focusing on ‘better compliance’  

*See the European Pact for the Future for all 12 asks.