Environmental crises have largely been left out of a draft list of future EU priorities to be discussed during an informal meeting of EU leaders in Spain this week, according to a draft summit statement seen by Euractiv, which drew criticism from green groups.
The leaked draft of the so-called Granada Declaration, dated 27 September, focuses on enlargement, migration, competitiveness, and defence.
It will be discussed by EU country leaders at their meeting in Granada on Friday (6 October) as part of talks on future priorities for the European Union, building on a communication adopted by the European Commission last week.
While it is still a draft and could change by the time it is agreed, environmental groups are concerned that the draft Granada Declaration is turning the EU’s focus away from the ongoing climate and environmental crises.
“Despite a light smattering of green buzzwords, this paper sets Europe up for failure,” said Ariadna Rodrigo, democracy campaigner at Greenpeace’s EU unit.
“It sees the future of the EU as a militarised fortress that only interacts with the outside world to suck up resources and trash nature,” she added.
In the draft, energy, climate and environment topics are mostly discussed in relation to geopolitical risks, competitiveness and securing supply chains.
“We will address vulnerabilities, not least as a result of deepening climate risks and geopolitical tensions,” the draft document reads.
“We will anticipate potential challenges and seize the opportunities for our Union in the green and digital transitions, with the aim of ensuring the sustainability of our economic model. We will concentrate particularly on energy and resource efficiency, circularity and decarbonisation that continue to shape the future,” it continues.
According to green NGOs, it is “astonishing” that climate, biodiversity and pollution only receive passing mentions.
In response to the leak, a group of five environmental NGOs have issued a letter urging the leaders of the European Parliament, Commission and Council to do more to support the Green Deal in the discussions.
“The current draft text falls woefully short in recognising the pressing threats posed by the runaway climate crisis, the alarming loss of ecosystems and biodiversity, and pollution,” reads the letter, signed by BirdLife Europe, Climate Action Network Europe, the European Environmental Bureau, Transport & Environment, and the WWF European Policy Office.
“Backtracking on Europe’s commitment to a green, fair, and socially just transition would play into the hands of those seeking to destabilise the EU and undermine its core values. It would jeopardise Europe’s competitiveness in the global race for sustainability and prolong reliance on authoritarian regimes,” it warns.
The five NGOs call on EU leaders to double down on the green transition by “radically increas[ing] public climate, environment and social investments while aligning all
public and private investments with the objectives of the green transition”.
Alongside this, they call on the EU to accelerate the implementation of the Green Deal, up its ambition, strengthen governance, and boost public participation.
The Spanish EU Council Presidency declined to comment on the leak.
[Edited by Frédéric Simon/Zoran Radosavljevic]
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Source: euractiv.com
