At its Strasbourg session this week, the European Parliament discussed the conclusions of last week's European Council meeting. However, the major issue of the EU's long-term budget for 2028-2034 remains unresolved. Europe wants to become a geopolitical power, rearm, compete with China and maintain its climate targets. But who will pay for it all?
German Green MEP Daniel Freund, the Greens' coordinator on the Committee on Budgetary Control, warns that Europe cannot take on more responsibilities with less money and must not abandon its climate targets.
Speaking on BNR's special broadcast from Strasbourg, he said:
“Europe still has a great deal to do in terms of defence, support for Ukraine and competition with China. I see our chancellor, as well as members of my own party, calling for substantial budget cuts. Fuel prices keep rising, driven by our dependence on fossil fuels and the problems involving Iran.
I think we are currently seeing some of the highest prices ever at petrol pumps and filling stations. At the same time, we are seeing a major increase in electric vehicle use. In Denmark, for example, electric vehicles already account for 80% of new car sales, while in Germany the figure is 30%. So I think we need to move in that direction.”
Italy, Greece, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia are preparing a petition calling for a further postponement or weakening of the emissions trading scheme. Europe must nevertheless maintain its climate targets, the politician insisted in an interview with BNR Horizon's programme “Strasbourg Calling”:
“We do not want to keep spending billions to support petrol producers, these huge companies, and in doing so also support dictators. We want to put an end to that! We want to continue transforming our economies and making them increasingly green. This summer, we saw 32,000 Europeans lose their lives during heatwaves. And yet it was the coolest summer compared with those forecast to come. So we certainly need to keep moving in this direction.”
Daniel Freund argued that decarbonisation is not incompatible with industrial competitiveness:
“We can already see what is happening in China. The Chinese market has stopped buying cars with internal combustion engines from us, and only electric vehicles are being used. The same applies to other products. So if we want to remain competitive, we need to offer the right products. For example, companies that use electric trucks and renewable energy are not currently being affected by the fuel crisis.”
Europe must strengthen its defence industry, but even defence is becoming greener, he noted:
“Even if we look at the battlefield in Ukraine, we can see that this war is being fought, to some extent, using renewable energy. A large number of drones are being deployed, and they operate on batteries. What we must do is stand together in defending Ukraine, because in doing so we are fighting for our shared values and our own survival.”
The Greens will support the European Parliament resolution aimed at strengthening security in the Black Sea in response to Russian threats, he added:
“I think we will support the resolution. We stand with Bulgaria, Romania and every country that falls victim to such Russian attacks.”
Irina Nedeva’s full interview with MEP Daniel Freund was aired on BNR's Horizon channel on October 21 and can be heard HERE.