'What the European elections mean for the EU Green Deal'

Parties that have questioned and weakened the EU Green Deal were the winners in the European elections.

The final results did not show a surge for the far right across Europe, even if such parties performed strongly in France, Germany and Austria.

However, the winning centre right European People’s Party has already worked to water down various parts of the EU’s flagship environmental policy, while the Greens will start the next parliamentary term with 53 seats compared with 71 before the elections...

“This historically unprecedented show of the far right parties in the European parliament may lead to a regressive transformation of what can realistically be expected from the EU project,” warned Alemanno[, Jean Monnet professor of EU law at business school HEC Paris and founder of non-profit The Good Lobby]. Such a “regressive transformation” would certainly include green policies...

Many environmental campaigners, however, opted to give a brighter interpretation of the election results...

Those green groups choosing to take a more positive view of the results underlined the continuing centrist majority in the parliament as a sign of hope for the future of the Green Deal.

“The majority of Europeans chose parties that recognise that there is no prosperity or security if we do not invest in Europe’s transition,” Jurei Yada, E3G programme leader for sustainable finance, told Sustainable Views. “This will be a good signal for businesses and investors to keep moving towards sustainability.”

...Ursula Woodburn, director of the Corporate Leaders Group Europe... called on the newly elected policymakers “to make sure businesses are future-proof in the race to dominate clean technologies through driving policy based on competitive sustainability”.

“This also means a new focus on other elements that can help Europe really deliver for people and the economy, including supporting communities, tackling the issues facing the EU’s industrial base, investing in Europe’s infrastructure and ensuring the EU’s long-term credibility,” said Woodburn...

Greenpeace EU and WWF’s European Policy Office insisted that voters wanted strong climate and nature action, pointing to the last Eurobarometer survey...

“We cannot allow disinformation and anti-green campaigns to dictate our future,” said Tycho Vandermaesen, policy and strategy director of the WWF European Policy Office. “The reality is that becoming greener boosts our economy and is a major job creator...”

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