The EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) has supported member states to save lives in the midst of earthquakes, hurricanes and floods. It has helped fighting forest fires and evacuating EU nationals – including more than 75.000 EU citizens during the current COVID-19 crisis – by coordinating and assisting in civil protection efforts. Medical equipment such as ventilators, personal protective equipment, vaccines and therapeutics and laboratory supplies have also been procured through rescEU to support national health services during the pandemic.

However, MEPs believe that while the EU Civil Protection Mechanismwas used successfully during the COVID-19 crisis, it also exposed limitations in the current crisis management set-up. When many member states are hit by the same emergency simultaneously they cannot rely on own assets and voluntary support. RescEU must therefore be strengthened to enable the EU to help quickly to fill these critical gaps so no one is left alone to deal with such emergencies.

To take these concerns into consideration, the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee today with 72 votes to 6 and 1 abstention, updated its position adopted on 5 March 2020.

Preparing for large-scale emergencies

The committee repeated its call from 5 March that a significantly larger amount should be allocated to preparedness, including for the purchase of necessary new rescEU equipment, materials and resources to be better able to assist member states when national capacities are overstretched. This would make it possible to respond swiftly and effectively to large-scale emergencies or to low probability events with a high impact including medical emergencies such as the COVID-19.

To be more transparent about the use of EU funding, MEPs also believe that it is necessary to specify how money is allocated across the three pillars of the mechanism “prevention, preparedness and response”.

Quote

After the vote the rapporteur, Nikos ANDROULAKIS (SD, Greece) said: “There is a need for more EU solidarity. With our proposals we better protect and assist European citizens, no matter in which member state they reside as we increase the co-financing rate to 100%, improve prevention actions and give the Commission the possibility to acquire, rent or lease the necessary capacities. Parliament is ready to start the negotiations. We want the Mechanism ready to address not only a possible second wave of the pandemic or forest fires but any other natural or man-made disaster in the future.”

Next steps

The full House will vote during the14-17 September session after which Parliament is ready to start negotiations with member states to allow for entry into force of the revamped mechanism by January 2021.

Background

The Civil Protection Mechanism was set-up in 2013 to help member states deal with increasingly frequent natural disasters. Until 2019, it was only based on a voluntary system. In 2017 alone, the Mechanism was used 18 times for forest fire emergencies in Europe. Portugal, Italy, Montenegro, France, and Albania all received assistance via the Mechanism to respond to forest fires.

Since 2019, when rescEU was created, the EU can now also directly assist member states hit by disasters when national capacities are overstretched.

Business consultancy EY has identified 1,000 green projects it says will help Europe recover stronger and more resilient from the economic slump caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The projects require €200 billion of public and private investment to get off the ground, the consultancy said in a report published on Thursday (3 September).

This is a fraction of the €750 billion coronavirus recovery fund agreed by EU leaders in July to help relaunch the European economy after the coronavirus outbreak.

Approximately one-third of the projects are developed by start-ups and SMEs, and will support the creation of 2 million new jobs, EY said, adding those will create immediate social, environmental and economic value.

“This is however only the tip of the iceberg and we believe the value of the entire EU pipeline of green projects could be as high as €1 trillion, with the potential to return the more than 12 million full-time workers lost to COVID-19 into green and productive activity,” said Steve Varley, EY global vice-chair for sustainability.

For EU leaders, this is “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to rethink and refocus the bloc’s post-pandemic economy, Varley said.

Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation, a non-profit group, said that “EY’s work demonstrates that small, midsize and large project developers from Portugal to Poland have green shovel-ready projects ‘ready to go’ that can restore and transform livelihoods and communities in a resilient recovery”.

“There can therefore be no excuse for member states not spending recovery and resilience funds on win-win green investment opportunities,” she said in a statement.

Examples of “shovel-ready” projects identified by EY include HYBRIT – a joint venture between steel company SSAB, mining firm LKAB and utility Vattenfall – to replace coking coal with fossil fuel-free hydrogen in steel production in Sweden which would need €1.5-2 billion, Varley said.

Another project is by Korean chemicals company LG Chem to develop a gigafactory to produce lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles in Krakow, Poland. A third scheme relates to the French government’s plan to renovate Paris buildings to make them more energy efficient, Varley said.

Georg Zachmann, a senior fellow at the Brussels-based economic think-tank Bruegel, applauded the report as “a useful bottom-up contribution to the debate” on Europe’s green recovery.

However, those projects will require “more than cheap interest rates” to get off the ground, he cautioned, saying a wider policy menu is needed to unlock investments.

In a speech on Tuesday (1 September), EU climate chief Frans Timmermans doubled down on the EU’s green objectives, saying “it makes even more sense now” to invest in climate-friendly technologies because they will help reboot the economy after the coronavirus outbreak.

With the long-term EU budget and recovery plan that was agreed by EU leaders in July, Europe will have €1.8 trillion to spend on rebooting the economy in the coming seven years, Timmermans reminded, saying 30% of that sum will be dedicated to climate action.

Spending that money on future green industries “is a moral imperative and a matter of economic good sense,” said the Commission vice-president, who cited offshore wind, energy efficiency and building renovation as examples.

“Offshore wind is taking off like a rocket right now,” Timmermans pointed out, saying wind turbines can be combined with electrolysers to produce hydrogen and store surplus electricity production when the wind blows in times of low demand.

The European Commission is now waiting for EU member states to prepare national recovery plans that will be submitted to Brussels for scrutiny and approval by all EU countries, Timmermans said.

And that will require coordination, the official cautioned, saying there is “a risk that the recovery plans are contradictory” and pull in opposite directions. “We need to tell them exactly which plans go in the direction of a sustainable recovery and which ones don’t,” Timmermans said.

Timmermans defends higher EU goals on climate change

If the European Green Deal made economic sense before the COVID-19 crisis, “it makes even more sense now” because it will help reboot the economy, said Frans Timmermans, the EU Commission vice-president in charge of climate action.

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]

Canada, the United States, the European Union and Britain are discussing possible sanctions against Belarus over its crackdown against protests following a disputed election, a Canadian source directly familiar with the matter said on Wednesday (2 September).

If sanctions were imposed, they would come “in the not too distant future”, said the source, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.

Protests erupted after a 9 August election that the opposition says was rigged to prolong President Alexander Lukashenko’s 26-year rule. Lukashenko denies electoral fraud and has shown no sign of backing down.

UN human rights investigators say they have received reports of hundreds of cases of torture, beatings and mistreatment of anti-government protesters by police.

“There have been a number of things that have happened since the election that are reprehensible,” said the Canadian source.

“We’ve made it clear the situation cannot stand and that’s precisely the reason we are looking, with other partners, at some sort of sanctions we could put in place.”

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that Washington and European partners were reviewing imposing targeted punitive measures against anyone involved in human rights abuses in Belarus.

The EU made a half-decision on sanctions meant to mainly target those accused of being responsible for the fraudulent elections and the violent crackdown on peaceful protests.

The EU is looking at sanctioning 10 to 15 Belarusian figures, a US State Department official said on Wednesday.

“My understanding is that the EU … is thinking of about 10 to 15 names,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent during a virtual appearance at the German Marshall Fund think tank. Kent also said the United States was not, “at this point,” suspending sanctions waivers that he said had allowed Belarus to purchase North American crude oil earlier this year.

In the meantime, EU members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania announced their own sanctions in the form of entry bans against Lukashenko and 29 other high-ranking officials.

Lithuania and Estonia have asked fellow EU nations to blacklist Lukashenko , diplomatic sources said.

Any sanctions need unanimity from all members of the EU, which usually does not target top political figures with a view to keeping communications channels open.

Participatory budgeting should be included as part of EU’s COVID-19 emergency fund allocation; Finnish MP Mari Holopainen

Mrs Mari Holopainen, a member of the Finnish Parliament from the Green League, is proposing for Finnish citizens to be included in the decision-making processes of the state resources allocation. According to Mrs Holopainen, it would be beneficial to investigate whether a certain part of the EU recovery package or the future financial framework could be distributed through participatory budgeting in member states on a voluntary basis. The aim of the €750 billion emergency fund is to accelerate the recovery of the European Economic Area.

 “Civic engagement would familiarise citizens with decision-making processes, as well as EU administrative structure, whilst providing the state with innovative ideas for the benefit of the whole society. Hearing directly the voices of locals, not only lobbyists from the corporate sector would also increase the legitimacy of the Union. Citizens also possess valuable knowledge that could be utilized to a much greater extent in financial planning,” Mrs Holopainen stresses. 

In participatory budgeting, citizens are included in the decision-making of local investments and services. Participatory budgeting has been successfully implemented in numerous cities both within and outside of Europe. Between 2018 and 2019 the residents of the Finnish capital Helsinki were able to put forward ideas and vote on the allocation of a budget of 4.4 million euros. Mrs Holopainen believes similar practices should be extended.

“Participatory budgeting enables citizens to define what reconstruction really means for them; is it more libraries and community spaces or more cycle lanes and green parks. We may not have come up with such creative ideas if not for the valuable input from local citizens. Participatory budgeting enhances a sense of community, narrows welfare disparities, and promotes inclusion of marginalised groups,” Mrs Holopainen continues.  

Section 22 of Finland’s Municipal Act encourages municipalities to include local residents in financial planning. Citizen participation improves the quality and transparency of decision-making and strengthens public confidence in governance. It is also in the interest of the European Union to deepen democratic engagement and civic participation. 

MP Holopainen will submit an initiative to extend participatory budgeting from municipal to the state level in Finland. She serves as a member of the Commerce Committee and a deputy member of the Finance Committee in the Parliament of Finland. She holds a master’s degree in economics and is pursuing a PhD at Aalto University in Finland.

Auto component maker Steel Strips Wheels on Tuesday said it has received orders worth over USD 455,000 (about Rs 3.32 crore) for about 42,000 wheels for the US and EU trailer market.

In a regulatory filing, Steel Strips Wheels Ltd (SSWL) said it has received new export orders worth over USD 455,000 from the US and European Union (EU) trailer market to be executed in September and October from its Chennai plant.

The company said orders of similar capacity are anticipated from the same customer base as businesses have picked up speed.

On Monday, SSWL said it has received orders worth over USD 46,000 for about 3,700 wheels for the US caravan trailer market.

Last week, SSWL had received orders worth over EUR 253,000 (around Rs 2.20 crore) for about 37,000 wheels for the EU caravan trailer market.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)