The Green Deal: as it was, is and will be

Mariia Mazokha, 110i, KNEU

Brief summary: On January 15, 2020, the European Commission adopted the “Green Deal” – a package of measures aimed at modernizing the economy and social sphere in order to make Europe a “climate friendly” continent by 2050. The European Commission has ambitious plans to mobilize 100 billion euros to support the most vulnerable regions and sectors of the European economy.

Back in December, the Head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine Matti Maasikas stated that the European Union wanted to hear Ukraine’s proposals on this initiative.

“I am absolutely sure that the EU leaders will listen very carefully to what Ukraine has to say about the Green Agreement – about joining one of the biggest priorities for the European Commission, which is headed by Ursula von der Leyen,” the EU ambassador said.

Ukrainian Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine was interested in taking an active part in developing and implementing the European New Green Agreement. He also noted that Ukraine had already created an interdepartmental working group to coordinate actions to combat climate change.

Further, on January 28, 2020, the sixth meeting of the Association Council Ukraine – European Union is held in Brussels under the chairmanship of Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk. This is the first meeting of this level between the new composition of the Ukrainian government and the new composition of the European Commission.

“The European Green Deal is, on the one hand, our vision for a climate-neutral continent by 2050 and, on the other hand, a very concrete road map for achieving that goal. It is “50 actions until 2050″. Our goal is to reconcile the economy with our planet, to find a balance between how we produce and consume with the resources of our planet, and to make this approach work for the benefit of our people,” the President of the European Commission noticed.

She emphasized separately that no one should be left behind and the transition to a new economic model will either work for everyone or not at all. Given this, an important component of the European Green Deal is a fair transition mechanism. Moreover, here the transition is especially important not only in the economic sphere, but also in the legal one. After all, correct implementation of the Green Deal requirements in the jurisdiction of each state is an important and time-consuming process. For example, the European Commission has also taken into account the fact that Poland will need more time to implement this goal. Therefore, in July 2020, the European Council will return to discussing the legal situation in this country.

“Our citizens are changing their lifestyle in order to protect the climate and the planet. That’s why the Green Deal says that Europe is on their side. “The Green Deal is our duty to our children. Because we are not masters of this planet, we are only temporarily responsible for it, and now it is time to act,” said Ursula von der Leyen.

And already in March, the European Commission will propose a new climate law to develop the “green” road map, which was presented by the European Commission.

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