by Géraldine Kutas | Nov 6, 2014 | Sem categoria
On 24 October European leaders reached an agreement on the framework which will set the energy and climate scene for the next 15 years. The deal embraces several elements which will form the basis of the legislative proposals to be developed by the European...
by Géraldine Kutas | Oct 23, 2014 | Sem categoria
After two intense weeks of confirmation hearings in the Parliament, highly political discussions in Brussels, Strasbourg and EU capitals and after a mini re-shuffle of portfolios, the Junker Commission has been confirmed by the Parliament. It was described by Mr...
by Géraldine Kutas | Sep 8, 2014 | Sem categoria
After an intense summer break, which saw Brussels far from quiet but rather busy speculating about the nominations to top EU posts, business has resumed in the institutions. In the Parliament, the Environment committee has already met to vote on the questionnaire to...
by Géraldine Kutas | Jul 15, 2014 | Sem categoria
After a short break occasioned by the European elections in May, it will soon be time for new and returning Members of the European Parliament to embark on second reading discussions on ILUC. Member States adopted their common position on 13 June and, as soon the text...
by Géraldine Kutas | Jun 13, 2014 | Sem categoria
Today, European Energy Ministers finally adopted the Council’s position on ILUC, after EU ambassadors passed the Greek compromise last week. Key elements of the positions are a cap for conventional biofuels at 7% and a non-binding sub-target for advanced biofuels at...
by Géraldine Kutas | May 28, 2014 | Sem categoria
After the stalemate at the December Council where a blocking minority of Member States prevented the adoption of a Council common position on ILUC, Member States’ Permanent Representatives finally agreed today on a compromise text proposed by the Greek Presidency...
by Géraldine Kutas | May 8, 2014 | Sem categoria
Having looked at the recently published manifestos of the European political groups, I realized surprisingly that the main groups, EPP and PES, do not even mention transport issues in their priorities for the next five years. Isn’t it odd? Transport is still one of...
by Géraldine Kutas | Apr 17, 2014 | Sem categoria
It’s good to see that a highly regarded institution, like the United Nations, has just released a new report that has the courage to simply follow the empirical evidence about the benefits of responsibly produced biofuels. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate...
by Géraldine Kutas | Apr 4, 2014 | Sem categoria
This week the United Nations scientific panel on climate change (IPCC) published its latest report on climate change. The report, echoing its past findings about a clear link between climate change and human factors driving that change, argues that immediate action is...
by Géraldine Kutas | Mar 19, 2014 | Sem categoria
Later this week, European heads of government will meet in Brussels to discuss, among other issues, the European Union’s 2030 Climate and Energy Package which – as I mentioned in my previous blog – effectively called for an end to the Fuel Quality Directive after 2020...
by Géraldine Kutas | Feb 21, 2014 | Sem categoria
The annual EU-Brazil summit will take place next week here in the European Union capital, Brussels. There will be plenty of bonhomie as these summits go. We can reasonably expect trade to be one of the most important items of the political agenda, alongside other...
by Géraldine Kutas | Jan 22, 2014 | Sem categoria
Apparently, the current European Commission’s long term strategy is now formally not to have one. On Wednesday, this Commission formally mapped out, in the first step in a long legislative process ahead, its much awaited perspective on what it thinks the European...
by Géraldine Kutas | Jan 16, 2014 | Sem categoria
With the European Commission days away from releasing its policy proposal on so-called 2030 climate and energy targets, it’s worth taking stock of how this position will negatively impact the decarbonization of the transport sector and how once again this Commission...
by Géraldine Kutas | Dec 12, 2013 | Sem categoria
EU Member States on Thursday confirmed what many European biofuel watchers had assumed for many weeks: the issue of biofuels and their potential indirect effects (so-called Indirect Land Use Change) won’t be addressed until the next European Parliament and the next...
by Géraldine Kutas | Dec 10, 2013 | Sem categoria
Ahead of the adoption of the Political Agreement on the ILUC dossier in the Energy Council on 12 December 2013, a group of NGOs put out a briefing on the biofuels policy review and on the three main issues in the debate: the cap for land-based biofuels, the weakening...
