No greening of Europe without protecting industry

Today’s plenary session of the European Parliament debated its ‘Fit for 55’ climate action plan, which will make it mandatory to reduce EU emissions by at least 55% by 2030. In her plenary speech, Fidesz MEP Enikő Győri welcomed the fact that the climate package at least has an element of a carbon offsetting mechanism (CBAM) to protect European industry: “It is a necessity, as manufacturing companies are struggling to survive in the face of war, sanctions and protectionist measures by the US.”

“CBAM is finally doing what should be a basic principle of sensible climate policy: instead of the public and small and medium-sized enterprises, it is making polluters and companies producing in third countries more cheaply and with lower climate protection standards to pay. I hope, however, that this will encourage our partners to go green and that they will not sell the goods that are forced out of our markets to other countries that are less sensitive to environmentally friendly production”, MEP Enikő Győri pointed out.

The Hungarian politician asked the European Commission to take into account the EU’s competitiveness when reviewing the CBAM: “We should not unnecessarily restrict imports from third countries, as this makes European production and exports more expensive.”

MEP Enikő Győri said that “in addition, the impact of CBAM on EU exports will have to be examined. It is important that international trade rules are respected by the EU at all times”.