Czech MEP Tomáš Zdechovský of the Christian Democrats said that the Green Deal was prepared far too hastily and disregards the impact the plan would have on the lives of ordinary citizens who, for example, cannot afford a new electric car.
“We have repeatedly pointed this out,” commented Zdechovský in an interview for iuhli.cz regarding the absence of any kind of study focused on the feasibility and impact of the Green Deal, or calculation of the total cost.
“Unfortunately, we do not have any studies ourselves which was a reason behind me sending a request to the Commission at the beginning of February,” emphasized Zdechovský. “The answer came three months later on May 4, confirming only that the Commission has no feasibility or impact studies. It even seems that under the term impact study, EU Vice-President Timmermans only considers the impact of all the measures on reducing emissions. That answer upset me a lot, and I will continue to ask for a clear answer from the Commission. We cannot make decisions based on feelings.”
According to Green Deal supporters, jobs in the coal industry should perish, while layoffs in the automotive industry, which is a major employer in the EU, are also very likely.
Rising electricity prices will generally increase the costs for companies, which will lose competitiveness as a result, so they will have to lay off their employees as well.
“On March 19, a week after the declaration of a state of emergency in the Czech Republic, Marian Jurečka [Christina Democrats chairman] and I sent an official request to the Commission to at least delay plans to reduce CO2 in the automotive industry and forgive sanctions due to the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis. Unfortunately, the EU approaches the subject as if the proposal has already been approved,” Zdechovský criticized.
The rise in electricity prices will be reflected in the rising prices of practically all products. The price of heating in winter and cooling in summer will increase, as will the price of transport because everything will be powered by electricity. Zdechovský argues that this might lead to significant social consequences.
“It was sewn with a hot needle and signed before thinking about how it will affect ordinary citizens who will not have a new electric car or heating,” the Czech MEP said, referring to the Czech phrase that means something was done too quickly because there was a demand to find a quick solution
“Sadly, most of my colleagues in the European Parliament do not want to hear these arguments and are convinced that the only way is to follow the green path as if tomorrow was already too late.”
Therefore, Zdechovský considers the approach of MEPs to be “strongly ideological.”
“This is one of the reasons why I repeatedly call for the reform of the EU because we simply cannot continue with this direction. In many cases, the EU is behaving like an activist organization, which is wrong,” Zdechovský warned.
Title image: European Commissioner for European Green Deal Frans Timmermans speaks during a media conference after the weekly College of Commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, March 4, 2020.
