Politico’s sources do not share Donald Tusk’s enthusiasm following Thursday’s summit in Brussels. The issue concerns the conclusions regarding the European Union’s climate target for 2040. The Polish Prime Minister assured that the final conclusions included provisions favorable to Poland. However, anonymous diplomats claim that little has changed. “The rule that Tusk operates at 30% applies in the Union as well!” said MEP Waldemar Buda from Law and Justice (PiS).
On Thursday, during the European Council summit, a debate was held on the EU’s climate target for 2040 and the planned expansion of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to additional sectors – transport and construction (ETS2) – in 2027.
Tusk’s “success”
“I am very, very satisfied, I must say, because it has been, after all, 13 hours of nonstop talks on serious matters for Poland. But the most important thing for me, as we reported earlier, was dismantling this threat, especially for Polish households and car users, related to what is called ETS2 – that is, this fee or climate tax,” said Prime Minister Donald Tusk during a press briefing in Brussels.
He offered some criticism of Law and Justice (PiS) politicians, saying they “failed to defuse or pull some of the teeth out of ETS2”, and declared success, boasting that the conclusions managed to include a provision on “review,” which – in his view – “does not yet mean a guarantee, but a possibility, and that was essentially the fight: to postpone or block it so that it doesn’t take effect in 2027.”
“Postponed the crisis”
However, as Politico reports, nothing has actually changed. “The final wording adopted by the leaders did not require any concrete changes to climate legislation,” the outlet notes.
The portal adds that the agreed text is vague and does not express support for the 2040 target, and – citing one diplomat – emphasizes that “it’s possible that [the leaders] simply ‘postponed the crisis’ until the new meetings on November 4.” An anonymous source told the portal that “he sees no difference in the lay of the cards” compared to September, when ministers first attempted to vote on the target.
“Bear the responsibility”
The Politico report was commented on by MEP Waldemar Buda of Law and Justice (PiS). “Terrible news from the European Council. They did not question the 2040 climate target! They adopted the conclusions presented a week earlier, changed nothing, negotiated nothing,” he stressed.
“The rule that Tusk operates at 30% applies in the Union as well! You will bear responsibility for this!” he declared.
The European Commission has proposed that the European Union commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent compared to 1990 levels. The 2040 target is meant to be a transitional step – leading the bloc toward achieving climate neutrality by 2050.