Not all member states will benefit from the European Green Deal

(EurActiv, 16 Jan 2020) The wide-ranging European Green Deal provides for a European fund for a just transition, which is meant to support regions that are economically highly dependent on fossil fuels. But not all member states will benefit from it. EURACTIV France reports.

On 14 January, the European Commission unveiled the architecture of its Green Deal to accompany Europe’s energy transition.

The Green Deal is European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s flagship project with a delicate mission to financially support the continent’s energy transition and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. And to bring on board the lesser developed countries, such as Poland, by proposing a compensation fund for ultra-carbon-dependent regions.

A financing plan that remains far off-target

While the European Green Deal promises to provide €1,000 billion in funding over ten years – or €100 billion a year – public money will still be a relatively small part of the architecture planned by the Commission.

The Commission will be taking into account several sources of funding to reach this figure. The first and main source will be the European budget, 25% of which will have to contribute to the ecological transition objectives.

In practice, this means that around €500 billion from the Common Agricultural Policy, Cohesion Policy, or Horizon 2020 research programme will have to go ‘green’. The Commission also hopes that European countries will invest an additional €100 billion through the Cohesion Policy’s co-financing obligation.

But if the budget is to be ‘greened’ it will have to survive budgetary negotiations between member states, which are currently deadlocked.

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EurActiv, 16 Jan 2020: Not all member states will benefit from the European Green Deal