Carbon removals, just transition, SMEs: EU Parliament to question incoming Commission

Leaked document shows priority areas for MEPs as they prepare to grill von der Leyen’s 26 candidates

European Parliament has decided its sustainability priorities as it prepares to grill incoming Commissioners next month.

A 90-page leaked document shows what MEPs plan to ask the 26 candidates about their plans for the next five years of lawmaking.

Real Economy Progress has covered what’s in their official job descriptions already, but here’s what we know about Parliament’s agenda as they decide whether to rubber-stamp the appointments.    

Social questions: from CS3D to a focus on the just transition

The incoming Commissioner for Justice, Michael McGrath, doesn’t look like he’s going to be asked about the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive at all.

The file went unmentioned in von der Leyen’s mission letter, too, leading some observers to predict Parliament would double down to get answers on its future review and expansion.  

But that hasn’t happened, and there is no sign that either arm of the EU plans to prioritise or demote the Directive in the next few years.

Instead, the ‘social’ focus has shifted to the just transition: MEPs want to know what measures will be introduced to protect the most vulnerable households and workers from decarbonisation measures.

According to the leaked document, Parliament’s regional development committee will ask if more resources will be allocated to the issue, including via a second EU Just Transition Fund, extended to cover regions reliant on the automative industry or intensive farming.   

Taxes, carbon pricing and CBAM

A number of the questions about the just transition centre on taxes and carbon pricing.

Both Wopke Hoekstra, the incoming commissioner for climate and clean growth, and Valdis Dombrovskis, who is expected to be in charge of economy and productivity, will be asked what measures they will introduce to cushion citizens from potential energy cost increases under a tighter EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).

MEPs will suggest there should be closer scrutiny of how revenues from the ETS are spent by Member States, and ask Hoekstra how he will use taxation to support decarbonisation in a fair way – including changes to the Energy Taxation Directive and whether the aviation and maritime sectors will be taxed “more effectively” in future.

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) also comes up throughout the document.

Stephane Sejourne, who is expected to be in charge of industrial strategy, will be asked how he plans to implement the rules “effectively, fully and in a timely manner, while avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy and double protection”.

“What measures will you propose to close potential loopholes upstream and downstream and for the expansion of the scope of CBAM in accordance with the regulation, while avoiding carbon leakage along the value chain and taking into account the situation of Least Developed Countries?” the environmental committee is expected to ask.

Carbon removals and CCUS

There is also a big focus on carbon removals and capture in the leaked document.

When Hoekstra is questioned on his plans for the EU ETS, he is also set to be asked his position on “setting Union targets on carbon removals, including a separate target for permanent carbon removals” within Europe’s 2040 decarbonisation target.  

As part of a broader question from the environment committee about which measures will be proposed to help hard-to-abate and energy-intensive sectors decarbonise, the incoming climate Commissioner will be asked how he envisages the future regulatory framework for CO2 capture and storage: “How will you ensure sufficient incentives for industry along the entire CCUS value chain?”

There is a lot of emphasis on the need to support Europe’s farmers in the document, including their role in carbon storage: the agricultural committee will ask about incentives to help agriculture and forestry “increase their contributions as carbon sinks”.

Competitiveness and safeguarding SMEs

Unsurprisingly, Mario Draghi’s recent report on EU competitiveness crops up numerous times, and there are various questions about how the next Commission will reduce the EU’s reliance on China for cleantech, batteries and low-carbon transport.  

SMEs are of particular concern, after the Draghi report warned against hitting smaller companies with reems of red tape.

When Teresa Ribera Rodriguez, who will oversee the clean, just and competitive transition, is asked what measures she will introduce to drive investment into the climate transition, she will have to give specific plans for SMEs.

Likewise, Sejourne will be asked what measures he plans to take “to ensure that EU legislation regarding the clean transition is tailored to SMEs”.

Maria Luís Albuquerque, who is expected to take charge of finance, will be asked how the EU will retain its global leadership position on sustainable finance, whilst also increasing the interoperability of the existing rules, and reducing the administrative burden on companies.

And Hoekstra will be asked to define “clean growth”.

Other files

MEPs also have questions lined up about the future of the Chemicals Industry Package, the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act, the Net Zero Industry Act, and the Critical Raw Minerals Act.

Transport and tourism will also be a focus of sustainability-related queries.  

Next steps

The questions will be asked at hearings between November 4 and 12, and every potential Commissioner will be interrogated for around three hours, with oral as well as written questions.

MEPs will then have a few weeks to deliberate before a legally-binding vote takes place, probably at the plenary in late November. That vote decides which candidates are approved (historically, Parliament always rejects one nomination, but if that happens it’s unlikely to impact the sustainability-related agenda).

The final 26 are scheduled to begin their roles on December 1, at which point EU policymaking can resume.