No additional funding to EU for supporting Green Deal, German finance ministry says

Germany's finance ministry (BMF) has said Germany does not plan to increase its contribution to the EU budget in order to bolster the climate action ambitions and Green Deal by new European Commission leader Ursula von der Leyen, news agency AFP reports. In an answer to a parliamentary inquiry by the Green Party's parliamentary group in the Bundestag - seen by Clean Energy Wire - the BMF said if the European budget remained at one percent of the bloc's economic output, this would give "enough leeway for mustering the necessary funds through corresponding priority setting." Moreover, the European Investment Bank (EIB) does not need a capital increase as European climate targets can be reached "with the EIB's existing resources," said the ministry. Green Party MP Franziska Brantner said Germany had to actively support the EU's climate action ambitions, especially since the country will hold the European Council presidency in the second half of 2020. According to Brantner, the presidency "will play a decisive role in whether the Green Deal stands a chance and von der Leyen can make good on her promise to turn the EU into a climate action pioneer."

Von der Leyen's commission on 14 January unveiled its financial plan to shift Europe towards carbon-neutrality by 2050 and turn the continent into an engine for sustainable growth and green technologies. The Green Deal's investment plan aims to mobilise public investments and parallel private funds through EU financial instruments worth up to one trillion euros by 2030.