On September 25, 2019 in Brussels, the newly elected President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who took up her responsibilities on 1 November, gave a briefing stating that the main task of the first 100 days of the new Commission will be the preparation and promulgation of a new EU climate policy – the “European Green Deal”. U.Leyen noted that the representative of the Socialist Democratic Party of the Netherlands, Frans Timmermans, was nominated as the coordinator of the preparation and implementation of the new EU climate policy, who will be considered by the European Parliament as Vice-President of the European Commission and will direct the work of the EC Directorates in the fields of climate policy, energy, transport and agriculture.

 

 

Among the top priorities of the “European Green Deal”, U. Leyen cited reductions in CO₂ emissions in EU to 55% from 1990 level by 2030 and reaching a zero CO₂ emissions level by 2050.

 

Commenting on the appointment of F. Timmermans as the coordinator of the “European Green Deal”, the Secretary-General of the European Environmental Bureau, Jeremy Wates, said that F. Timmermans would coordinate the creation of a special fund to finance EU emissions reduction projects (CO₂ emissions) and transit of EU countries from the use of coal and other fossil fuels (oil and gas) to “green” renewable generation technologies, etc. A separate task for F. Timmermans will be to formulate a more effective European policy on allocating CO₂ emissions quotas and regulating the CO₂ emissions excess tariffs.

 

Mr. Wates stressed that the next 5 years will be decisive for shaping the Community’s new economic structure, its future energy and climate policies. In this context, the most difficult task for F. Timmermans and the “European Green Deal” will be to reach support of the new EU climate policy by the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the Baltic countries, which are wary of  the new EU requirements limiting the economic development of these countries.

 

According to Jonathan Gaventa, the board member of the European environmental organization “E3G”, one of the most serious challenges of the “European Green Deal” will be the reduction of CO₂ emissions in the gas sector, which will require the creation of new infrastructure. According to Jonathan Gaventa, gas consumption both in the world and in the EU continues to grow. In order to achieve the overarching goal of the new EU climate policy (zero CO₂ emissions in 2050), the EU must significantly reduce gas consumption and replace it completely with renewable generation by 2050. This will require the construction of “Smart Networks” – a smart integration of electricity, heat, transport and industrial sectors of the EU economy. The European Commission, according to Jonathan Gaventa, should ensure equal access of all countries to technologies that will be an alternative to natural gas in the EU market. Such a gas policy will also have a diplomatic dimension. As a main gas importer, the EU should already send its partners in the gas sector (the Russian Federation, the US, Algeria, Egypt, etc.) a clear signal of the Community’s intention to refuse from gas in the long run.

 

Gaventa noted that the revision of the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECP) will be one of the key elements of the “European Green Deal”. To date, an analysis of existing national plans shows the plans and intentions of some EU countries to increase gas use in the short and medium term (Figure 1). European infrastructure development programs, in particular, the “Trans-European Network”, “TEN-E”, which are now encouraging increased gas consumption in the EU, will also need to adapt to the requirements of the new EU climate policy.

 

Thus, according to J. Gaventa, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Poland and Romania now form about 40% of total gas demand in the EU and these states intend to increase this figure. Germany’s National Gas Market Development Plan for 2016-2026 provides for the construction of 848 km of new gas pipelines and 113 new gas metering stations. Romania plans to implement 9 new gas transport projects by 2027. Italy is investing in the modernization and development of LNG terminal infrastructure. Eleven EU countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Finland, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Slovakia) plan to further develop their gas transport infrastructure. And five EU countries (Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Poland and Romania) are preparing plans to increase their own gas production. And all these plans are now at contradictory with the new EU climate policy.

 

J. Gaventa stressed that by the end of December 2019, EU Member States should submit to the EC new “National Energy and Climate Plans”, which should take into account recommendations prepared by the new cabinet of the European Commission, including strategies for removing natural gas from the EU Member States’ energy balance by 2050.

 

 

Thus, the newly elected President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and members of the new cabinet of the European Commission have announced the adoption of the “European Green Deal” and its implementation as one of the main EC policies for the next 5 years. The main objective of the “European Green Deal” is to achieve zero CO₂ emissions in the EU by 2050 and to refuse from fossil fuels, including natural gas, in energy and industry. Achieving this goal will require global economic change from the EU Member States, a profound reorganization of the EU Member States’ energy, transport and industrial infrastructure. Ursula von der Leyen stressed that the new EU climate policy, including the “European Green Deal”, will be prepared within 100 days of operation of the new composition of the EC.

It should be noted that the ambitious goals of the EC and the prospect of implementing reforms in virtually all spheres of life in the EU member states are a concern for countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary, whose governments fear that new regulatory rules will limit their economic development.