Enlargement and EU Climate Policy – Achieving the EU Climate Targets in a larger union

Key points

The EESC:

• underlines that EU enlargement must be fully integrated into the design and implementation of the EU climate framework for the 2030–2050 period and calls on the Commission to clarify how the EU climate targets will be calculated and implemented to ensure fairness, policy credibility and predictability for investment decisions;
• emphasises that achieving the EU’s 2040 and 2050 climate objectives in a larger EU will require policies, governance and investment frameworks to be adapted in order to avoid locking in emissions that would later undermine EU targets.
• stresses that enlargement is a major opportunity to accelerate European decarbonisation by modernising energy systems, phasing out coal, improving energy efficiency, deploying clean technologies, and harnessing a sustainable and circular bioeconomy. 
• recommends that, during any pilot phase, priority be given to the cooperation with EU candidate countries on the use of high-quality international carbon credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. 
• stresses that strengthening resilient, decentralised and low-carbon energy systems in Ukraine should be seen as a key contribution to long-term European security, industrial capacity, food security, competitiveness and strategic autonomy
• highlights that EU climate and enlargement policies support farmers towards the transition, particularly those with small and medium-sized farms.
• stresses that building institutional and administrative capacity, strengthening governance and coordination mechanisms, and facilitating access to finance, skills and social dialogue should be considered an integral part of EU climate policy in the run-up to enlargement, with active participation of the social partners, organised civil society, youth organisations and local and regional authorities.