European Commission sets a new course for EU energy and climate policy with the Fit for 55 package
While Finland was battling the summer heat, the European Commission was finalising what has been described as the biggest ever Fit for 55 legislative package in the EU context, which was published on 14 July. The historic package of 13 different initiatives proposed substantial changes to EU energy and climate policy. The aim is to put EU greenhouse gas emissions on track to achieve a 55% reduction by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. The 2030 target is a milestone on the way to the 2050 carbon neutrality target. Commission officials pulled off a remarkable feat in completing a multi-thousand-page package, shaded by endless interdependencies, within tight deadlines.
On the other hand, the organisation of the Commission's work around tight deadlines has also been criticised, especially by the civil service that prepared the package. Over the spring and summer, there have been weary comments about the round-the-clock work and the impossible deadlines. Many officials who have prepared the bills have also been disappointed that the importance of getting the package through by the July deadline at all costs has sometimes seemed more important than the overall quality of the bills. The negative opinions issued in April by the Regulatory Review Board, which operates independently of the Commission, on a number of bills, give a stark indication of the extent of the shortcomings they still contained at the end of spring. For example, its opinion on the impact assessment for the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) reform states, among other things, that the analysis of bioenergy is incomplete and criticises the study for not sufficiently reflecting the views of the various stakeholders.
There is deep dissatisfaction within the Commission, right up to the College of Commissioners, that insufficient preparation has led to ideological choices and narrow interests being allowed to influence policy choices. The forestry debate, which has attracted attention in Finland, is a good example of this. As part of the revised Renewable Energy Directive announced in 2018, new sustainability criteria for the use of woody biomass were introduced after careful preparation and were due to enter into force in July 2021. Despite concerns raised by many stakeholders, the Commission decided to go ahead with the tightening of the sustainability criteria before they had even been in force for a day and without being able to verify their appropriateness. In addition to the issue of sustainability criteria, the Fit for 55 package also contains other policies that have even been considered inconsistent in business circles. Some of the more controversial policies have been perceived as attempts by certain members of the College of Commissioners to achieve a perceived progressive image by aligning themselves with the positions of some of Brussels' most aggressive lobbyists.
The publication of the Fit for 55 package will trigger a process estimated to take up to two years in the European Parliament and the Council. The institutions that will assess the Commission's legislative proposals and propose amendments to them. Work on the package will therefore start in Brussels at the end of August, after the European Parliament returns from its summer recess. This will also be an excellent opportunity for businesses to influence the legislation.
Despite the size of the package, Finnish companies should analyse the Commission's legislative proposals with a magnifying glass and assess their impact on their business, as they affect almost every sector of our economy in one way or another. Businesses and organisations across Europe are currently preparing for the autumn lobbying exercise to put their own stamp on the Commission's legislative texts. Without active lobbying, the voice of Finnish businesses will be left unhelpfully at the mercy of opposing views in the legislative process. With sustained lobbying, it is possible to achieve decisive changes over the coming months and years, the effects of which will be felt in the business environment of Finnish companies for decades to come.
Antti Virtanen
The author is a consultant who closely follows EU policy in Brussels.