MEPs gas a green EU budget by voting for fossil fuels in Just Transition Fund

The European Parliament plenary session today voted for a 17.5 billion euros Just transition Fund that would permit the funding of fossil fuels projects, striking a blow to the EU’s ambitious European Green Deal.

Proposed in January 2020 by the Commission to support a sustainable phase-out from fossil fuels in Europe’s carbon-dependent regions, the fund was set to be fossil free after EU heads of state backed the Commission’s proposal. MEPs later walked back on this commitment in July by voting in favour of funding for fossil gas.

Raphael Hanoteaux, EU funds policy officer for CEE Bankwatch Network, said “This vote sends a troubling signal as the EU continues to hammer out the details for the rest of the EU Budget, with 900 billion euros at stake in the Cohesion Policy and the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The full exclusion of fossil fuels across all funds is crucial in order to concentrate on a sustainable and just transition and recovery.”

“By allowing fossil gas in the fund, MEPs have condemned Europe’s fragile regions to decades more polluting energy. This hampers the EU’s prospects to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and shows that MEPs are still unable to walk the talk when it comes to closing the European Green Deal, especially now that the Commission has announced a new target of 55 per cent for greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2030.”

For more information contact:

Raphael Hanoteaux, EU funds policy officer
CEE Bankwatch Network
E-mail: raphaelh@bankwatch.org