Vulcan View: The latest EU developments 25 November – 29 November

European Parliament approves von der Leyen’s College of Commissioners

On Wednesday, 27 November, MEPs gathered for the European Parliament Plenary on the new College of Commissioners and its programme, to vote on the approval of the new college. The session began with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s speech thanking the outgoing College and sharing an outline of the plan for the new College.

Von der Leyen announced her plan for a Competitive Compass, built on the three pillars of the Draghi report (innovation, decarbonisation, security), and which will frame the work of the Commission for the next term. The first will be to close the innovation gap with the US and China. The second is a joint plan for decarbonisation and competitiveness, while the third is to increase security and reduce dependencies.

Von der Leyen proposed plans for Europe to be home to the next wave of frontier technologies by using digital technologies to boost its prosperity and unleash innovation. This will be led by Commissioner-designate Henna Virkkunen. The Clean Industrial Deal will be put forward within the first 100 days to support industry in the Green Transition, while Russian LNG imports will be replaced, bringing down energy costs for houses and companies.

Maroš Šefčovič has been tasked with delivering more partnerships, trade and investments to ensure stable and secure supply chains, including critical raw materials. Von der Leyen also confirmed that Hadja Lahbib will work on crisis response and preparedness, alongside HERA while Olivér Várhelyi will lead the work on biotechnologies and the Critical Medicines Act.

Von der Leyen has proposed a European Savings and Investments Union, to be led by Maria Luís Albuquerque, to help ensure European companies can find the capital they need in Europe and plans to reduce regulatory burdens for companies, asking Valdis Dombrovskis to take the lead on simplification and implementation, making business easy across Europe. She also announced plans for a new omnibus legislation within the next mandate. Von der Leyen has tasked Michael McGrath to be a guardian of the EU’s values and principles, ensuring that the rule of law remains at the heart of our European project.

Ursula von der Leyen’s speech outlines a comprehensive plan for the Commission’s next term, with a clear focus on competitiveness, innovation, sustainability, and resilience. Closing the innovation gap will be key, particularly in fields such as AI, semiconductors, and digital infrastructure. The EU will also aim to be less dependent on third parties, particularly in energy and critical raw materials. Von der Leyen is expecting effective collaboration among the Commissioners to achieve these goals.

The European Parliament voted in favour of approving the College of Commissioners with 370 votes, 282 votes against and 36 abstentions. The new European Commission will begin its work on 1 December.

Climate Action in Flux: COP29 insights, Trump 2.0, and Europe’s Next Steps

COP29 Conclusion

COP29 has drawn to a close with an annual finance target of $300 billion being agreed to assist developing countries with the impacts of climate change. Simon Stiell, United Nations climate chief, praised the outcome as an “insurance policy”for humanity against global warming. However, the deal has been widely criticized with representatives of developing nations and climate activists labelling it as insufficient. Negotiators failed to arrive at an agreement on the action’s countries must take in response to the commitments made at last year’s U.N. climate summit. These include the transition away from fossil fuels and the target to triple renewable energy capacity in the next ten years. It has been suggested that negotiators from Saudi Arabia attempted to block such a plan from coming to fruition.

A Trump 2.0 Presidency and Climate Action

Moreover, Trump’s win in the U.S. presidential election has left COP29’s finance pledge in the lurch. It is not certain that Trump will pay into the finance goal that was agreed given that the president-elect has previously referred to climate change as a “hoax”. Upon his return to the Oval Office, Trump has announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement with preparations already underway to issue an executive order of withdrawal. In response to this threat, senior representatives from the EU, UK and China implied that their countries would be willing to fulfill larger climate leadership roles.

Ireland and COP29

From an Irish perspective, COP29 provided optimism that Ireland is on an upward trajectory regarding the pursuit of enhanced sustainability and climate-friendly practices. According to the German Watch report, which was presented at COP29, Ireland has achieved its best ranking yet in terms of reducing global emissions. The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) analysed the results of climate mitigation efforts of 63 countries plus the EU, collectively responsible for over 90 per cent of the global greenhouse gas emissions. This year, Ireland climbed 14 places to rank 29^th, moving into the ‘medium’ performance category for the first time. While its ratings for renewable energy, energy, and overall climate policy were all deemed ‘medium’, Ireland’s performance on greenhouse gas emissions was considered ‘low’. National climate policy also lagged behind, earning a ‘low’ rating despite broader improvements.

The EU and COP29

The European Union launched its first Biennial Transparency Report at COP29, ahead of the December deadline. This marked a significant step towards the full implementation of the Paris Agreement. The report outlined the EU’s progress in assessing the effects of EU climate policies and measures in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building resilience to climate change, as well as contributions to international capacity building and climate finance. As of 2023, the EU’s net greenhouse gas emissions have fell by 37 per cent since 1990. The report emphasised the fact that greenhouse emissions must be reduced by 40 per cent compared to 2005 levels. Targets for individual Member States range from 10 to 50 per cent. The accomplishment of these targets is backed by a plethora of sector-specific initiatives such as the Energy Efficiency Directive, the Renewable Energy Directive, the Common Agricultural Policy and the Innovation fund. These targets, which were reinforced at COP 29, may require businesses to adapt to stricter environmental regulations.

Compliments of Vulcan Consulting – a member of the EACCNY