EU's Green Plan Meets Resistance

"The European Union is coming under pressure to pare back its sweeping plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions amid fierce resistance from farmers as well as demands to boost military spending to counter Russia.

The EU has rolled out a raft of new regulations, taxes and investment programs in recent years that propelled the bloc to the forefront of the global fight to combat climate change. As European governments implement the measures, however, they are colliding with farmers, business groups and politicians who say the climate agenda is out of step with more urgent problems on the continent.

European leaders are soul-searching over how to increase defense and security as the conflict in Ukraine drags on and the prospect of a second Trump administration looms. Anxieties are running high over the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the crux of European defense.

The sanctions on Russia have also fueled higher energy prices -- a flashpoint that triggered a wave of farmer protests in recent weeks as tractors snarled roadways. To end the unrest, Berlin and Paris were forced to take the costly step of delaying planned reductions in diesel-fuel subsidies for farmers.

Now, the European Commission, the bloc's executive body, is facing resistance from member states to a proposal that aims to allocate 10 billion euros, or about $10.7 billion, in fresh money for strategic technologies, including those aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Member states are calling for that funding to be limited to 1.5 billion euros and focused on the defense industry.

Details of the fund, including its size and purpose, still need to be negotiated with the European Parliament, which has called for new funding to increase to 13 billion euros and for climate-related projects to be included.

The pushback is a sign of how political winds are shifting across the continent. National governments are operating under tightened budgets amid fears they aren't doing enough to address tensions over trade and immigration. Those anxieties are fueling support for far-right parties ahead of the European Parliament elections in June.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for a regulatory pause last year, warning that a flood of climate-related red tape risked driving companies to instead invest in China and the U.S. 

Macron has also been vocal about Europe's need to develop an industrial policy that boosts military spending on homegrown defense contractors and plugs critical holes in weapons supplies.

Wave after wave of farmer protests have forced Brussels to trim some of its agenda.

The commission said Tuesday it was withdrawing a proposed law aimed at sharply curbing the use of pesticides in farming after it was rejected by the European Parliament last year.

The proposal "has become a symbol of polarization," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said." [1]

The sanctions on Russia did not work. They only help Russia. The sanctions are also ruining EU's economy in unfortunate moment. We need a healthy economy to finish green transition. The green transition could not be done only on the backs of the poorest in our society. The people need support. Only strong economy could give us that support. The sanctions on Russia have to go.

Oh, how serious our propaganda is here. New surprises await in 2024. What kind? It's a secret, but surprises are waiting, trust me. Sanctions against Russia still work. Somehow. Still, and that is it, what is not clear to you here? And we are silent about our farmers' diesel prices and tractors on the streets. What is there to talk about? Its alright at our place. Just a minute and we'll all be in heaven. Sixty virgins for each. Everything is fine with virginity. Trust me.

1. World News: EU's Green Plan Meets Resistance. Kim Mackrael.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 07 Feb 2024: A.8.