In this multiannual financial framework (MFF), the European Commissioners propose a major shift of current EU budgets and funding. The EU ministers from the 27 member states and the European Parliament will now need to reach an agreement on this over the coming months.
The European Union is shifting its priorities towards higher defense spending and a stronger industrial policy. As a result, the budgets for environment and climate will come under pressure. This raises the question of whether the agreed targets for significant greenhouse gas emission reductions remain achievable.
The EU has long focused heavily on cutting emissions. With the new emphasis on Defense and industrial independence, climate policy is now losing ground. Experts warn that the target to halve emissions within the next fifteen years can no longer be met because of this.
At the same time, maintaining and restoring wetlands is being given a higher priority. Rewetting river deltas and coastal areas can trap a lot of carbon and prevent peat degradation. However, critics note that this approach has not been sufficiently scientifically analyzed. As a result, the actual contribution to climate goals remains uncertain.
In Finland, Poland, and the Baltic countries, plans are currently underway to rewet large forest and natural areas along the border with Russia. These areas would serve as a natural barrier to tanks in the event of a military threat.
Denmark recently received approval from the European Commission to spend over 626 million euros on establishing new forests. This will convert tens of thousands of hectares of farmland, mainly from the dairy sector, into natural areas.
The Danish government, businesses, and municipal councils have developed a far-reaching tripartite transition plan in recent years for the Danish countryside and for intensive agriculture and livestock farming in Denmark.
In this plan, they did not formulate what all stakeholders especially do not want, but rather what they want together. It is one of the largest nature projects in Europe in recent years.
The approval of these Danish plans demonstrates that Brussels no longer views subsidies for forest creation and habitat restoration as market-distorting. Previously, such subsidies were often considered to distort competition between farmers and other sectors. Now, nature restoration is regarded as an essential part of the European climate and environmental strategy, even though the budget has become more limited.
Internationally, there is growing recognition of the importance of wetlands. Their restoration helps not only to combat CO2 emissions but also to protect biodiversity. Reports emphasize that European countries are still far behind in nature restoration, such as by reintroducing lost wetlands.
The European Commission also increasingly stresses that EU countries can use environmental and climate subsidies to support their agricultural and food industries, provided these sectors are willing to accept ‘non-sector-specific’ subsidy criteria.