Von der Leyen wins EU vote on promise of clean industrial deal, review of ‘burdensome’ rules

Apparent shift in sustainability focus from financial regulation to industrial policy mirrors moves in Parliament

Ursula von der Leyen has been provisionally re-elected as the president of the European Commission on the promise of a new Clean Industrial Deal and less red tape for businesses in the region.

In a speech delivered to European Parliament’s 720 new members this morning, von der Leyen said she would enshrine a 2040 emission-reduction target of 40% into the bloc’s climate law, and focus on “supporting and creating the right conditions for companies to reach our common goals”.

The latter would be done through a Clean Industrial Deal, to be introduced within the first 100 days of the new Commission to “enable us to invest more together in clean and strategic technologies and in energy intensive industries,” said von der Leyen.

She also pledged to introduce an Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act, to channel investment into infrastructure and industry – especially in carbon-intensive sectors – with a focus on cleantech.

According to the speech, the new Commission will also pursue ‘clean trade and investment partnerships’ to help secure a pipeline of raw materials, clean energy and cleantech from across the world.

Less burdensome rules?

Von der Leyen used the new political guidelines to reiterate her desire to cut red tape for companies.

She did not refer directly to the widespread pushback against sustainability reporting laws in Europe, driven chiefly by her home country of Germany, but promised to “assess where existing regulation applying to large companies is too burdensome, disproportionate or a hindrance to their competitive development”.

Elsewhere, she acknowledged the tension created by some of the EU’s climate laws in other jurisdictions, saying the Commission must “listen and respond better to the concerns of our partners impacted by
European legislation, in particular those linked to the European Green Deal”.

“We need a more systematic approach to assessing the impact of our laws on non-EU
countries,” she continued.

Europe’s recently-introduced deforestation rules have caused particular issues for companies importing from outside the EU, and it’s possible they will be one of the first to be revisited as part of von der Leyen’s new commitment.

Next steps

Having won the first round of votes at Parliament today, von der Leyen must now map out who she plans to appoint to her next Commission, and participate in some informal negotiations on her policy objectives. A final vote will take place on her election after the summer.

Shift away from financial regulation

The latest political guidelines suggest a shift away from pursuing sustainability objectives through financial legislation, towards a focus on industrial policy.

This chimes with changes at European Parliament, where MEPs have been wrangling over who will sit on each of its numerous committees.

The committee for economic and monetary affairs (ECON) was especially influential under the last Parliament, because it controlled most of the key sustainability files, including the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.

Observers note that now, political parties are more bullish about getting their MEPs represented on the committees for industry and internal markets, because they can see that these are where control will lie for some of the most significant files expected in the coming years.

The final composition of the Parliamentary committees are due to be made public on Friday.