2023-08-29 18:40:28
Wopke Hoekstra
So far, the Dutch foreign minister has not attracted particular attention to climate protection.
(Photo: IMAGO/ANP)
Brussels EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) wants to make her Dutch party colleague Wopke Hoekstra the new climate commissioner. She will propose this to the Member States and Parliament, von der Leyen said after Hoekstra’s job interview on Tuesday afternoon.
Hoekstra brings “high motivation” and the relevant experience for the post, said the head of the commission. The 47-year-old Christian Democrat was Finance Minister from 2017 to 2022 and has since been Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte nominated Hoekstra last week to replace Commissioner Frans Timmermans who has resigned. He had to resign his EU posts because he is running as the red-green top candidate in the Dutch parliamentary elections in autumn. The social democrat was one of the three deputies from the Leyens and responsible for the “Green Deal”.
Long-serving commissioner Maros Sefcovic has succeeded Timmermans as deputy. In the future, the Slovak will coordinate the implementation of the climate laws as EU Vice President. In addition, Hoekstra should now have its own climate commissioner. Von der Leyen said he would work “under the direction” of Sefcovic.
The exact division of tasks between the two climate officers will first have to be worked out in practice. In any case, Hoekstra is supposed to represent the EU at the COP28 world climate conference in November. Von der Leyen said his government experience would be “a great advantage” during the preparation.
Hoekstra could fail in the European Parliament
However, the Dutchman has not yet attracted attention due to his particular interest in climate protection. He became known during the pandemic when he wanted to tie corona aid for heavily indebted countries to strict conditions. Italy and Spain then accused him of a lack of solidarity.
>> Read here: EPP boss Weber fails with summer revolt against Green Deal
Before Hoekstra can take up his new post, he still has to clear a crucial hurdle: the hearing in the European Parliament. There, the Social Democrats, Greens and parts of the Liberals reject him because they don’t want to see a conservative in this post.
Their argument: After the Social Democrat Timmermans, who always advocated stricter climate laws, the Christian Democrat is now threatening a change of course. Because the European People’s Party under Manfred Weber (CSU) has been trying for several months to prevent new green laws.
The chairman of the environment committee, French Liberal Pascal Canfin, said Hoekstra will have to prove he is the right man to pursue the EU’s ambitious climate targets. His confirmation as climate commissioner is “not secured” because he needs a two-thirds majority from the coordinators of the environment committee.
A commissioner torpedoing the Green Deal with his conservative party friends from the EU Parliament and other member states would be unacceptable. Rasmus Andresen, spokesman for the German Greens in the European Parliament
The spokesman for the German Greens in the European Parliament, Rasmus Andresen, said his party was skeptical about the nomination. “A commissioner who torpedoes the Green Deal with his conservative party friends from the EU Parliament and other member states would be unacceptable,” he said. “Von der Leyen risks running into an open knife.”
The European Social Democrats also insist that the climate portfolio is theirs. To do this, von der Leyen would have to redistribute the responsibilities in the commission and assign another department to Hoekstra.
There would be a chance for a bigger shift if Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager were to be chosen as the new head of the European Investment Bank at the EU finance ministers’ meeting in September. Then the Danish Social Democrats could send a replacement candidate.
Should Hoekstra fail the hearing in the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, von der Leyen would have to reschedule. On Tuesday, she first tried to allay the concerns. Hoekstra emphasized in his job interview that he wanted to pursue an ambitious and socially balanced climate policy, said the head of the commission.
More: With Frans Timmermans, the EU loses its most important climate politician
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