19 September 2024

The new EU Commission: what’s in it for Europe’s wind industry?

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented her new College of Commissioners to the EU Parliament in Strasbourg. Over the next five years, the Commissioners-designate are tasked with doubling down on the EU green and digital transition and fostering the path for a new Clean Industrial Deal that can strengthen European industrial competitiveness and security. The proposed new Commissioners now need to be endorsed by the EU Parliament before taking office later in 2024.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled her proposed new College of European Commissioners this week. The 26 Commissioners-designate, one from each EU Member State, will propose and steer EU law-making over the next five-years. Presenting her new leadership team President von der Leyen said: “We will stay the course on our new growth strategy and the goals we set for 2030 and 2050. Our focus now will be on implementation and investment to make it happen on the ground. This is why I will put forward a new Clean Industrial Deal in the first 100 days. It will channel investment in infrastructure and industry, in particular for energy-intensive sectors. This will help create lead markets in everything from clean steel to clean tech and it will speed up planning, tendering, and permitting.”

“The European Green Deal will remain the major backdrop of all that we do.”, Commission President von der Leyen added. She clarified that the next Commission will have a stronger focus on competitiveness and security, further developing the Green Deal into a Clean Industrial Deal. For wind energy this is good news. Wind energy already helps to bring down electricity costs and makes Europe less dependent on fossil fuel imports. And clean and cheap wind power is key in helping EU heavy industries decarbonise and electrify. Europe is also a global technology leader in wind energy with a strong European value chain for wind accounting for 370,000 jobs.

Among the key appointments for the new College of Commissioners, Teresa Ribera is proposed as Executive Vice-President for the Clean, Just and Competitive Transition. Ribera is currently holding the position of Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge in Spain. In this position she has been a tireless advocate for renewables. In her new role, she will oversee both climate policy and competition enforcement. Ribera will coordinate various other Commissioners (see below) on delivering the new EU Clean Industrial Deal. She is also tasked to develop a new approach to EU competition policy in the face of unfair competition and competition distortions caused by foreign subsidies. This is in line with actions already undertaken by the EU Commission earlier this year in various clean energy sectors. In April the EU launched an investigation into Chinese wind turbines under new Foreign Subsidies Regulation.

Denmark’s Dan Jørgensen was nominated to oversee Energy and Housing, tasked with helping Europe invest in clean energy and reduce dependencies. Jørgensen had previously served as Denmark’s Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities as well as Minister for Global Climate Policy. Commission President von der Leyen highlighted that upgrading electricity grids and fostering cross-border electricity interconnections will be among Jørgensen’s main tasks. The EU Commission had already launched an Action Plan for Grids. Now it needs to deliver on it as electricity grids remain a main bottleneck for the expansion of Europe’s wind energy. More grids will help strengthen the EU’s electricity supply security and better integrate renewables into energy markets. Dan Jørgensen is also tasked to present an Electrification Action Plan to increase the share of direct electrification in Europe’s energy system, a main ask of the European wind industry and the EU Electrification Alliance.

France’s Stéphane Séjourné was offered the position of Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy. He will be responsible for presenting an Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act to support clean tech in industry and speed up related planning, tendering and permitting. He will also be responsible for implementing the Net Zero Industry Act, ensuring that Europe’s strategic clean tech manufacturing stays competitive. The EU has 225 GW of wind energy capacity today. By 2030 it wants to reach 425 GW. Séjourné will have to ensure that Europe’s wind energy supply chain ramps up in line with the 2030 targets and that turbines continue to be “made in Europe”.

Wopke Hoekstra of the Netherlands was proposed for the Climate, Net-Zero and Clean Growth portfolio. Together with Stéphane Séjourné he will be tasked to develop the Clean Industrial Deal in the first 100 days of the new EU Commission mandate. And together with Teresa Ribera he will be responsible for developing a post-2030 framework for emission reductions and implementing a 90% emission-reduction target for 2040. In this capacity he will oversee the implementation of the EU-27 Member States on the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). Hoekstra will also be responsible for energy taxation.

In addition, veteran Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič was appointed to head the trade and economic portfolio, including customs policy. And Romania’s Roxana Mînzatu will take over the role of Executive Vice-President for People, Skills and Preparedness. Additionally, Cyprus’ Costas Kadis will lead Fisheries and Oceans, while Sweden’s Jessika Roswall will oversee Environment, Water Resilience, and a Competitive Circular Economy. All these roles are critical in aligning EU law on wind energy expansion with competitiveness, skills development and environmental prerogatives.

WindEurope looks forward to working with the proposed College of EU Commissioners. The 26 candidates will now undergo hearings and will need to be endorsed by the EU Parliament before they officially take office. Depending on how long this process takes, the new EU Commission could start working on 1 November the earliest.

An overview of all proposed Commissioners and their mission letters can be found here.