Brussels –\u00a0Economy, jobs, taxes. A topic as sensitive as it is central to the actions of any government and any political force campaigning for votes and consensus. The green economy and, more specifically, the European Green Deal bring everyone together in the debate accompanying the vote in early June. From\u00a0right to left of the political spectrum, the sustainability agenda is the starting point for\u00a0the next legislature. Some propose an EMS\u00a0to finance the sustainable transition, others new Eurobonds or farmer-friendly changes. However, what stands out is the\u00a0change of course within the EPP.<\/p>\n
The main ingredient of the European People’s Party’s economic recipe is remodeling the Green Deal.<\/strong> In its Manifesto<\/a> for the 2024 European elections, the EPP emphasizes the “need for a policy that is not clouded by misguided ideology, but rather rests on solid factual grounds and social responsibility.” In other words, “we must balance the different interests in our economy, society, and environment<\/strong>, recognizing the challenges of the global economy, climate change, and the changing demographic realities of our continent.” The party that supported Ursula von der Leyen as president of the EU Commission these past five years is the same that is campaigning against her as a candidate for a second term.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The economic program of what should be confirmed as the first party in the EU includes a business-supportive tax policy, even though there are no specifics. A “tax-friendly and business-supportive Europe” could take several forms, left to the post-vote in early June. Then, there is the promise to improve and revitalize Europe’s single market since “Europe’s economic performance depends on its success.”\u00a0\u00a0The <\/strong>Competitiveness Strategy for Europe and the Investment Plan for Quality Jobs are at the core of\u00a0the EPP’s commitment<\/strong>. The former aims to revitalize the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe, the latter to invest in research and development. For the former, the intention is to establish a system for vetting legislative proposals before they are submitted, and for the latter, to convince governments to combine public-private investments amounting to 4 percent of GDP. The real crux, however, is reorganizing\u00a0the College of Commissioners with a specific one for SMEs<\/strong> and less bureaucracy.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Socialists (PES) are clear and concise in their Manifesto<\/a>. “We say no to austerity,” the document reads.<\/span><\/span> “We say yes to protecting workers from crises,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0regulating the financial markets,\u00a0to combating speculation.” All this results\u00a0in the proposal for a permanent European unemployment support mechanism along the lines of the SURE anti-pandemic program that bore its fruits. The commitment is far from the lines of the EPP of Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission President\u00a0and candidate, who rejected the launch of a similar\u00a0‘job-saving’ mechanism.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0The Green Deal is not on the table.\u00a0<\/strong>However, the green agenda aligns\u00a0social policies with green policies, primarily meaning combating energy poverty and high utility bills, energy supply\u00a0to the most vulnerable, and a commitment to an\u00a0energy market reform to ensure price stability<\/strong> and affordability.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Finally, the socialists intend to play the role of the contemporary Robin Hood by taxing the rich and\u00a0protecting the less well-off for a tax justice functional to social equity. “Large corporations, big polluters, and the ultra-rich must pay their fair share in Europe and around the world<\/strong> through effective taxes on corporations, windfall profits, capital, financial transactions and the wealthiest individuals,” the Manifesto says.<\/p>\n European Liberals (RE, Renew Europe)\u00a0build their campaign on the economy and economic agenda on investments to revive Europe’s\u00a0economic engine. “The next Commission must be an\u00a0‘Investment Commission<\/strong>‘” is the\u00a0passage and the key pledge of the party program<\/a>. It means attention to spending on research, development, innovation, and human capital formation, but it also means creating the right conditions to attract private investment. The key to renewed competitiveness comes through talent attraction and quality jobs.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Looking at the primary sector, the liberals wink at farmers by promising an overhaul of the Green Deal i<\/strong>n a way that is\u00a0more tailored to the needs of industry players. These include reducing excise taxes\u00a0on renewable fuels, such as biogas, and increasing the ‘de minimis’ threshold for state aid to agriculture. For the medium- to long-term, on the other hand, voting Renew in the next election would mean having those who will push to have the next Commission present a cost-benefit analysis of the cumulative requirements for the EU agricultural sector deriving from environmental and health legislation, in addition to\u00a0developing “a major financial plan” for the transition to a sustainable and competitive agriculture and food system, identifying funding gaps and mobilizing the necessary public and private funding.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Green, because the Green Deal cannot\u00a0 be touched. But also red because the basic reference of the common budgetary rules are obsolete and need to be changed. The European Greens present citizen-voters with a Manifesto<\/a> that pushes even more explicitly to the left than the Socialists. “We will revise the arbitrary limits of the Maastricht Criteria <\/strong>and the Stability and Growth Pact,” the Manifesto says.A pledge that gives a shove\u00a0to the EPP that, based on that criteria, built the reform of the Pact and to the PES, which\u00a0failed to change it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0The Maastricht criteria set government spending limits, with the deficit that cannot exceed 3 percent of GDP and debt 60% of GDP.<\/strong> The promise of the Greens\u00a0is one that can gain consensus, but at the same time one that is difficult to achieve, since the parameters in question are embedded in the Treaties on the functioning of the EU, the amendment of which requires unanimity of the member states and a long and tortuous path.<\/p>\n \u00a0The Greens propose a new macroeconomic governance “that prioritizes quality investment in public goods and the green transition over the outdated growth-at-any-cost paradigm to avoid further crises and their social consequences.” It also gives space\u00a0to the green economy. Here, the Greens will\u00a0push for a Green and Social Transition Fund equivalent to at least 1 percent of EU GDP annually, financed primarily by joint borrowing\u00a0at the Union level<\/strong>. It givers room to\u00a0European green bonds and the completion of the banking union. Greens push for the launch of a deposit guarantee scheme, which has stalled for years. The European Conservatives (ECR) are not hiding: “We stand firm in our belief that the internal combustion engine<\/strong>, a testament to the power of European creativity and ingenuity, can remain commercially viable for years to come <\/strong>by embracing cutting-edge technology and investing in ground-breaking research on alternative low-emission fuels<\/span><\/span>” An excerpt from the party’s Manifesto<\/a> which far\u00a0from a Green Deal that is to be revised in the name of at least one particular industrial sector. It seeks a\u00a0European pact\u00a0with industry, to which it promises that the ECR “will support research and technological innovation and propose strategies in agreement with companies\u00a0and not against them.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n More broadly, the ECR’s primary goal in the economic sphere is to “revitalize industrial policy” through a greater focus on small and medium-sized enterprises and more attention to the technology (artificial intelligence) and the telecommunications (5G and 6G networks) sectors. All this through “freedom of enterprise for every citizen, while preserving the fiscal autonomy of member states and non-interference in taxation matters.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Last but not\u00a0least, the national model cannot but defend ‘Made in’. Recites the ECR Manifesto, “We also want to safeguard and advance our unique identity in a globalized world by preserving and promoting traditional artisanal skills and methods.PES: ‘No’ to austerity, ‘yes’ to taxing big business<\/h4>\n
Renew Europe, watchword: investment<\/h4>\n
Greens: away with old Maastricht parameters, room for more European green bonds<\/h4>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nECR:\u00a0\u00a0fiscal sovereignty and the revitalization of the ‘Made in’<\/h4>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe Left for a Permanent Recovery and the ESM\u00a0in Support of the Green Deal<\/h4>\n