Czech Business Today
Green Deal – What deal for business?
The Von der Leyen Commission wants Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent and it believes that it is the greatest challenge and opportunity of our times. To make it concrete, the Commission presented a European Green Deal on 11th December.
This means Europe will need to invest in innovation and research, redesign the economy and update its industrial policy. It requires an extreme effort from all of us, especially those who run the economy. In order to enable the economy to reap the benefits of the new climate and environment policy, businesses urge the Commission to respect the following key principles when adapting existing or drafting new legislation in the field. Market-based solutions should remain the central pillar of the EU’s climate policy. Only the market should decide which of the technologies are the most suitable because different technologies are viable for different applications.
The principle of technology neutrality must therefore be upheld, especially with regards to the research and innovation agenda. The businesses need stability, and planning security is crucial. This includes the necessity to streamline existing legislation to avoid incoherence and conflicting goals. Efforts to do so have to be continued and intensified. Last but not least, we have to make sure that European SMEs are able to adapt their business models to the new legislation. The transformation of business models is not happening overnight. The Commission has to apply the SME Test and measure the impact the Green Deal will have on the economy. Businesses need to be challenged but not overburdened. We also draw the Commission´s attention to the global aspects of EU decisions. We must ensure that the steps of the European Commission will not hinder the competition of our economy globally.
