What’s next in Europe? – Agenda of European climate and energy policy

Cyprus takes over EU Council presidency

Cyprus assumes the presidency of the Council of the EU. 

The Council represents the executive governments of member states, and the presidency rotates among EU member states every six months. It is not only responsible for setting policy priorities and planning and chairing meetings among ministers and heads of government, but must also try and reach agreement on laws with the EU’s other legislative bodies – the Commission and the Parliament. Member states holding the presidency work together closely in groups of three, called 'trios'. Preceding presidencies Poland and Denmark cooperate with Cyprus. [More on the presidency]

The European Commission is set to table another proposal to help implement the Clean Industrial Deal:

Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act: The Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator act will support energy-intensive industries and is dedicated to simplifying legislation to streamline permit granting, authorisations and reporting requirements and make investment easier in Europe.

The European Commission is set to present its

Clean Energy Investment Strategy: To support the development of a clean energy system, the Commission will present a Clean Energy Investment Strategy, including a de-risking initiative to unlock private capital. This will be central to efforts to prioritise investment in clean energy infrastructure, including grids, storage and transport infrastructure, cross-border energy infrastructure, energy efficiency measures, the digitalisation of the energy system and the deployment of a hydrogen network, said president von der Leyen. It would help streamline the use of financial instruments such as grants, loans and blended finance to maximise impact, said Commissioner Jörgensen.

Ireland takes over EU Council presidency

Ireland assumes the presidency of the Council of the EU. 

The Council represents the executive governments of member states, and the presidency rotates among EU member states every six months. It is not only responsible for setting policy priorities and planning and chairing meetings among ministers and heads of government, but must also try and reach agreement on laws with the EU’s other legislative bodies – the Commission and the Parliament. Member states holding the presidency work together closely in groups of three, called 'trios'. The following presidencies Lithuania and Greece cooperate with Ireland. [More on the presidency]

As part of efforts to legislate climate policy post-2030, the Commission will propose to update the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for maritime, aviation and stationary installations, and the relevant market stability reserve.  

The Commission said it aims to update Energy Union rules, including on CO2 transportation and markets; energy efficiency; and the renewable energy framework.

The Commission will present legislative proposals to update the governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action including the phase-out of fossil fuels subsidies. It aims to "ensure a genuine Energy Union by improving its governance, upgrading grids, removing existing bottlenecks, cutting red tape for cross-border energy projects and boosting electrification and the resilience of the electricity system."

As part of efforts to legislate climate policy post-2030, the Commission will propose to revise national targets and flexibilities currently governed by the effort sharing and LULUCF regulations. 

As part of climate change adaptation efforts, the European Commission will present a European integrated framework for climate resilience.