Paris welcomes EU’s Green Deal

Paris, 12 December 2019

This morning the European Commission presented its Green Deal for the climate. Elisabeth Borne, Amélie de Montchalin and Brune Poirson welcome the decision by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Vice-President Frans Timmermans to make climate and environmental issues the absolute priority of the new presidency.

France reaffirms its full support for the ambition to make the European Union the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050. This will also be the major challenge for the European Council of 12 and 13 December.

In addition to carbon neutrality by 2050, the European Commission is embarking on fast-paced transformations in order to achieve greenhouse gas emissions reductions of at least 50% and up to 55% by 2030, in a responsible way.

The ministers also welcome the Commission’s support for two other crucial elements France has promoted:

 The idea of a European carbon inclusion mechanism at the borders, to ensure that the emissions reduction efforts imposed on European businesses also apply to foreign businesses exporting to Europe. This is a matter of efficiency and fairness.

 For environmental standards and compliance with the Paris Agreement to be imposed in all the EU’s new trade agreements, so that non-European competitors cannot gain access to the European market if they do not honour these commitments.

Finally, France welcomes the Commission’s proposal to facilitate public support for investments in the ecological transition.

For the ministers, “the presentation of the Green Deal as the new European Commission’s first political action paves the way for strong ambition on the climate and environmental protection. France shares this priority and the desire for Europe to assert itself as the global leader of the ecological transition”./.