Thursday, March 23, 2023, 11:47 p.m.
European leaders have met this Thursday in Brussels to try to specify the response of the European Union (EU) to the US law on green subsidies, which threatens to attract this type of investment. On the table were the proposal to promote clean industry, the pact to obtain critical raw materials and the relaxation of state aid. In addition, the conclusions adopted by the Twenty-seven indicate that the European Commission will present a proposal to create a European Sovereign Fund to boost the sector before the summer and the intention that European countries allocate the equivalent of 3% of their GDP -in investments private and public – to innovation.
The doubts reside in how the initiatives proposed by Brussels will be transferred to concrete actions and how quickly the sector will be able to access aid. This debate has come marked by the confrontation between France and Germany on nuclear energy. Paris demanded that this type of energy be included in the European Commission’s plan to promote the production of clean technology and managed to have it included, at least partially.
Another of the clashes between the two powers has had to do with the ban on combustion cars by 2035, a measure that Berlin opposes. Although this issue was not part of the agenda, Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed that “there is a consensus” so that vehicles powered by e-fuels can continue to be registered beyond 2035. The German leader assures that Brussels must present another proposal and that the negotiation “is on the right track.” For his part, the Dutchman Mark Rutte stresses that his country has no problem approving the current proposal and hopes that there will be an agreement in the coming days.