French President Emmanuel Macron called Thursday for “a European regulatory break” in terms of environmental constraints, saying that the European Union had done “more than all the neighbors” and that it now “needed stability”.
“We are ahead, in regulatory terms, of the Americans, the Chinese or any other power in the world,” said Mr. Macron. “We must not make new changes to the rules, because we will lose all the players”, further pleaded the Head of State, stressing that this posed “risks” on “financing” of projects, during a speech on the reindustrialisation of France.
Green MEP David Cormand quipped on twitter: “The champion of the Earth is back”.
“The French are asking for a break on the implementation of the pension reform … Macron offers them a break on ecology”, also protested the head of EELV Marine Tondelier.
Emmanuel Macron also announced the creation of a “green industry tax credit” to support the production of batteries, heat pumps, wind turbines or solar panels.
It will be part of the green industry bill expected next Tuesday in the Council of Ministers, and will, according to him, “trigger 20 billion in investments on national territory by 2030”.
As for the ecological bonus on the purchase of an electric car, it will be reformed to “take into account the carbon footprint” of production and thus favor vehicles manufactured in Europe since in China, the energy which allows them to be production still relies heavily on coal.
Same logic for public orders which will take into account environmental criteria “for key decarbonization products” such as wind turbines and heat pumps from July 2024 instead of 2026.
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These announcements are intended to set French music to the European response to the very proactive, if not protectionist, policy established by Joe Biden in the United States to support industry and the energy transition.
Emmanuel Macron had been in the front line in the fall to push the Old Continent to arm itself against this competition, as well as against the rise of Chinese power.
Friday, the Head of State must go to the North to visit the Aluminum Dunkirk factory, “the largest producer of primary aluminum in Europe”, according to the Elysée.
He must also “formalize new investments”, including the establishment by the Taiwanese group ProLogium of a fourth factory of batteries for electric vehicles in France, for entry into production from the end of 2026.