Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. FINANCE MINISTERS PRESENT THEIR ABC FOR CAPITAL MARKETS IN EUROPE In the coming days, Finance Ministers will be putting their ideas on the table for a refresh of the Commission's Capital Markets Union project. Meeting in Ghent for informal Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings, it will be hard for ministers to avoid the draft shopping lists that will be finalised later this semester by Enrico Letta to reboot the internal market, and by Mario Draghi on competitiveness. On top of that, bankers are in town for their regular Eurofi school trip, using bilateral meetings with politicians to indirectly influence the EU's financial regulatory agenda for the next mandate. Ministers are expected to promote an "ABC" for capital markets: revise the financial supervision…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. INSTITUTIONS STRUGGLE TO FINALISE AGREEMENTS, AS OPPORTUNISM GROWS As the countdown to the Parliament elections goes on, EU institutions face an institutional crisis on their main method of decision-making in trilogues: provisional deals agreed in trilogue are increasingly blocked last-minute by national governments, driven by their own national electoral concerns and populism. In December, a last-minute opposition led by France blocked the adoption of the Platform Workers Directive, on which a provisional agreement was already agreed between the Parliament and the Spanish Presidency. Now, it is the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive which is at great risk, after Germany, Italy and several countries indicated to the Belgian Presidency that they would either abstain on or oppose the provisional agreement reached by…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. COMMISSION PLAN FOR 90% CARBON REDUCTION RELIES HEAVILY ON NET ZERO TECH The Commission’s 2040 climate target announced this week in Strasbourg, unlike the 2030 and 2050 goals, will not be enshrined in legislation. It heavily relies on two optimistic assumptions: full and effective implementation of the existing legislation, and speedy and successful roll out of “net zero” carbon technology, including carbon capture and storage. As expected, the Commission recommends 90% net greenhouse gas emissions reduction compared to 1990. Yet, it does not propose new policy measures, and it does not set any new sector-specific targets either, arguing that an extension of the current policies would already lead to an 88% reduction. As Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra put it: “Tacking…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. COMMISSION TO FOCUS ON CURRENT LEGISLATION TO MEET CLIMATE TARGET The Brussels bubble is eagerly awaiting the Commission’s official communication on the 2040 climate target due next Tuesday in Strasbourg – a leaked copy suggests that the headline figure will indeed be 90% of net greenhouse gas emissions reduction compared to 1990, building on the current 55% target for 2030. A 90% target would be in line with advice from the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change and the Commission’s own impact assessment. However, to meet the ambitious target, the Commission seems to simply rely on full implementation of existing legislation, along with an increased level of ambition in the adjusted National Energy and Climate Plans which will need to…