Sustainability Priorities for the 2024-2029 EU Term

In the next five years, the European Union faces the challenge of balancing economic stability with ambitious climate goals. Integrating the European Green Deal with a strong competitiveness strategy is crucial to combat deindustrialisation and secure high-quality jobs. Policymakers must be careful in crafting future regulations, ensuring they bolster rather than compromise Europe's position on the global stage. Only through a comprehensive strategy can the EU safeguard its economic stability while advancing towards its climate objectives, ensuring a prosperous and sustainable future for all Europeans.

For the next legislative period 2024-2029, Eurochambres urges EU policymakers to:

• Energy security and infrastructure: Modernise and expand energy infrastructure like grids and storage capacities. Secure natural gas supply, necessary for the transition, and explore carbon-neutral hydrogen. Implement policies and strategies for affordable, sustainable energy.
• Streamlining regulation: Simplify regulations, speed up permitting processes for sustainable projects, reduce administrative burdens, and base policies on solid data to encourage clean technology investment.
• Promoting technology openness: Adopt a technology-neutral policy to support a wide range of carbon reduction technologies, facilitating market transitions for advanced energy solutions. Streamline targeted funding access and reduce bureaucratic barriers to maintain the EU’s global competitiveness and achieve climate goals.
• Fostering international collaboration: Prioritise global collaboration and harmonize climate policies, including coordinated greenhouse gas pricing. Strengthen the EU Emissions Trading System and implement the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism within a WTO-compatible framework to prevent carbon leakage and support balanced global climate efforts.
• Access to financing: Improve access to finance for sustainable projects through private investments, which also considers a step-by-step transition toward climate neutrality. Simplify the EU sustainable finance framework and effectively support small and medium sized companies.