The Future of the EU – Make Climate Action its Trademark
- Project
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Ecologic Institute concluded the project "The Future of the EU – Make Climate Action its Trademark". The project established a network of think tanks from eight EU Member States – Germany, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Poland. The project monitored the domestic debates on the Conference on the Future of Europe (CFE) and its link to climate policies. The project also facilitated dialogues on the CFE between Member States, and contributed regularly to national debates on the CFE.
The project concluded:
- The recommendations of the European Citizens' Panels shaped the outcome of the CFE. In this respect, panels were a success.
- Citizens' Panels can become a standard feature of EU decision-making in the future if
(1) their scope is clearly defined,
(2) their composition also reflects the values and political convictions of citizens, and
(3) they are likely to advance deadlocked debates. - CFE recommendations are unlikely to shape the EU's climate and energy policies. Existing EU policies already cover many CFE recommendations. Many CFE recommendations are too abstract and vague to impact climate and energy policies.
- CFE did not address important gaps of EU climate and energy policies, such as phase-out dates for coal combustion, fossil fuel subsidies and short-distance flights.
- Recommendations on expanding majority voting and expanding the ordinary legislative process, however, are very relevant for climate and energy policies.