European Right Puts the Brakes on Green Deal
But also — Dutch Elections, Trade (Mercosur & New-Zealand), Hungarian & Polish Funds
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The Briefing
Last week, Members of the European Parliament cast their votes on two key regulations of the Green Deal: the regulation on packaging and packaging waste and the regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides. While the former was significantly weakened by amendments from right-wing political groups, the latter was outright rejected — a rare occurrence.
We delve into the causes and consequences of these two votes, which shed light on the positions of political groups as European elections approach in June 2024.
PACKAGING • 300: This is the approximate number of meetings held over the past year between industry representatives and MEPs of the Environmental Committee regarding the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).
This ambitious regulation could potentially impact all sectors of the European economy — from e-commerce to hospitality — in the coming years.
Its main objective is to make all packaging on the EU market recyclable by 2030. To achieve this, the European Commission proposes banning certain types of packaging deemed unnecessary or too harmful to the environment, and imposing goals for the development of reusable packaging, among other measures.
The industry has actively mobilized to have its say on the rules. "I have never been contacted by so many lobbyists. Some of them have been on the border of legality with pseudo-science and fake studies" said Delara Burkhardt, a member of the Social Democrats (S&D) group, during last week’s plenary session in Parliament.
Industry concerns found a more receptive audience among European right-wing political groups. "The amount of waste in Europe does not justify the enormous scope of the regulation," argued Massimiliano Salini of the European People's Party (EPP).
On the right, criticism mainly focused on measures related to reuse, prohibition, and limitation of packaging. "For years, the EU has promoted recycling and encouraged citizens to sort their waste. This regulation ignores progress made in the field of recycling," said Salvatore De Meo, representative of the Parliament's Agriculture Committee.
Nevertheless, the European Commission is unequivocal: if nothing is done, packaging waste will increase by 19% by 2030. Conversely, adopting ambitious measures could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions — the Commission says that, by 2030, the equivalent of Croatia's annual emissions could be avoided.
VERDICT • The regulation was ultimately adopted, but numerous amendments from the right significantly reduced its ambition.
For example, the Parliament wants to exempt the hospitality and restaurant sector from the ban on single-use packaging for food consumed on-site. Also, companies that can prove that 85% of a type of packaging normally prohibited is sorted and recycled could continue using that packaging.
Of course, the final shape of the text will be determined by negotiations between the Parliament and the Council. The latter will adopt its position in the coming weeks.
ELECTIONS • The opposition from European right-wing parties to this regulation is symptomatic of broader skepticism toward the Green Deal. Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP — the most represented party in the European Parliament — called for a "regulatory pause" on environmental norms in May.
German Peter Liese (EPP) explained this summer that the growing number of regulations and directives on the environment was "a big problem”. "We should not ask too much," he insisted.
In recent months, the European right has been particularly firm on environmental standards applying to farmers.
"We cannot continue to act as if nothing has happened in our economy since the beginning of the war [between Russia and Ukraine] and the excessive pressure it exerts on our rural communities and farmers," declared Manfred Weber in May regarding the nature restoration law. Revisit our briefing on this regulation that passed narrowly in Parliament.
PESTICIDES • While the packaging regulation was weakened in last week's plenary, the regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides met a more tragic fate: it was rejected by Parliament.
This regulation aims to halve the use of pesticides by 2030. The right opposed it for previously mentioned reasons: "We all want fewer plant protection products to be used on farmland. But reducing them should not jeopardize food production in Europe, make food more expensive, or encourage farmers to quit their activity," argued MEP Alexander Bernhuber (EPP).
The right adopted numerous amendments to reduce the scope of a regulation they considered too ambitious. The Greens and S&D ended up voting against the regulation, which they believe had been emptied of its content.
"It simply wasn't a text we could vote for in good conscience," explained Sarah Wiener (Greens), rapporteur of the Parliament on the regulation.
Liberal MEP Pascal Canfin (Renew) even considers that the level of ambition in the final compromise was "so low" that it would have been a setback compared to the sustainable use directive which was adopted in 2009.
NEXT STEPS • By opposing these new environmental rules, the European right is trying to position itself as the party of farmers and rural residents ahead of the June 2024 European elections. By emphasising on EU competitiveness, the right is also attempting to garner the industry’s support.
The regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides will not be adopted during this term. In theory, the Commission could withdraw the proposal and submit a new one, or the Council could adopt its position and the Parliament subsequently vote on it. In any case, the regulation will not be adopted before the European elections, due to time constraints.
It remains to be seen whether a similar regulation will be proposed by the next European Commission.
In Case You Missed It
NETHERLANDS • In the Netherlands, far-right candidate Geert Wilders (Party for Freedom, PVV) won the general election that was held on 22 November, with 23.6% of the vote.
Wilders' Eurosceptic stance is causing concern in Brussels. He wants to reduce Dutch contributions to European funds, limit arms shipments to Ukraine, adopt a very firm stance on immigration, and put the brakes on the Green Deal.
However, it is still highly unlikely that the far-right leader will succeed in forming a government. Wilders will have to convince at least two other parties to join him in government, such as the conservative VVD and the New Social Contract (NSC). If he fails to do so, it will be up to the alliance of Socialists and Greens (GroenLinks-PvdA), who came second place in the election, to try to form a coalition.
This process could take some time: the last coalition took 299 days to form.
Whatever happens, Wilders's strong representation in Parliament will have consequences for the Netherlands’ place in the European Union. However, the possibility of Nexit seems unlikely: the rise of far-right parties in Europe gives Wilders plenty of reasons to want to remain in the EU and influence decisions.
It will be interesting to observe Mark Rutte's attitude at the European Council on 14 and 15 December. The outgoing Dutch Prime Minister will still be in power, and his attitude at the summit could already reflect the Dutch Parliament’s turn to the right. With the EU’s enlargement to include Ukraine and the revision of the multiannual financial framework on the agenda for the meeting, such a turn may be all the more evident.
MERCOSUR • Negotiations on the free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur — which have been stalled for two decades — are gathering pace.
The victory of far-right leader Javier Milei in Argentina's presidential elections has prompted negotiators to seek to finalise the agreement in the coming weeks.
During his campaign, Milei threatened to leave Mercosur and distinguished himself from other candidates for his hostile stance towards several Latin American countries, including Brazil, which he described as "communist".
After the elections, it is expected that these criticisms will subside, and experts even believe it is possible that there will be no effect on the EU-Mercosur agreement — on the contrary: "The opening up of markets is part of Milei's discourse, which is why he will probably support the agreement with the EU, despite his criticisms of Mercosur," Welber Barral, former Brazilian trade secretary, told Reuters.
NEW-ZEALAND • On November 27, the Council gave the green light to the conclusion of the free trade agreement between New Zealand and the European Union. Last week, the European Parliament gave its overwhelming approval to the conclusion of the agreement in plenary session.
The agreement will eliminate tariffs on many European exports to New Zealand, including pork, wine, chocolate and biscuits. More details here.
The agreement is likely to come into force in early 2024, once New Zealand has fulfilled its legal obligations.
POLAND & HUNGARY • On 21 and 23 November, the European Commission approved the recovery and resilience plans for Poland and Hungary.
The Polish plan is worth 59.8 billion euros, including 34.5 billion in loans and 25.3 billion in grants, while the Hungarian plan is worth 10.4 billion euros, including 6.5 billion in grants and 3.9 billion in loans. These plans include a chapter on REPowerEU, a programme aimed at making the EU independent of Russian fossil fuels by 2030.
The Commission has stated that the release of the funds allocated under the Recovery and Resilience Facility remains conditional on the implementation by the two Member States of the "super milestones" imposed by the Commission to ensure the protection of the Union's financial interests and strengthen the independence of the judiciary in these Member States.
Nevertheless, the share of the funds dedicated to emergency measures regarding energy and ecological transition will be released by the end of the year in the form of pre-financing amounting to €5.1 billion for Poland and €0.9 billion for Hungary.
This will be the first payment since the plans were blocked in 2021 due to the European Commission’s concerns about respect for the rule of law in the two Member States. The winner of the Polish parliamentary elections and former Council President Donald Tusk recently visited Brussels to request the release of these funds.
The Commission's positive assessment still has to be approved by a qualified majority of Member States at the meeting of economy and finance ministers on 8 December.
What we’ve been reading
For the Institut Montaigne, Marc Lazar takes stock of Franco-Italian relations two years after the signing of the Quirinal Treaty.
It's time for the EU to rethink its relationship with Turkey, writes Sinan Ülgen in the Financial Times.
This week’s newsletter is brought to you by Augustin Bourleaud, Hana Rajabally, Marwan Ben Moussa, Guillaume Renée, and Maxence de La Rochère.