Luxembourg Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, has stepped into the fray over climate policy raging between Belgium’s Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, and Dutch EU Commissioner, Frans Timmermans.
Bettel sided with Timmermans in the spat, slamming De Croo over his recent comments calling into question aspects of what is termed the European green deal.
The Luxembourg PM, addressing reporters in Moldova, said it would be a grave mistake to disregard the climate crisis as a primary concern. He specifically referred to the fall-out between De Croo and Timmermans, which erupted after De Croo called for a pause in implementing European environmental legislation.
“There mustn’t be any justifications to delay the objectives of sustainability,” Bettel asserted, stating that safeguarding sustainability was of paramount significance and a duty regarding protecting future generations.
His comments align with Timmermans’ sentiments, who had earlier called for nature restoration and climate policy to be dealt with together, as outlined in the European green deal.
“A lot of our climate policy is based on solutions coming from nature, but then nature has to be able to do that. Dead forest does not absorb CO2,” Timmermans said.
De Croo, along with France’s leader, Emmanuel Macron, disagrees, saying he fears an overload of regulation for citizens and business and high budgetary consequences.
At the European summit in Moldova, De Croo said he was fully supportive of developing a ‘green economy’, agreeing that it could create jobs and technological leadership. However, he added: “But if we are going to realise that, if you want to reach a lower carbon emission, then that won’t happen because of big words coming from Mr Timmermans in his European bubble.
“It will be the product of our companies, our citizens who understand they need to do this, who know it will require a big effort, so I want to listen to their concerns,” De Croo said.
