Christian EHLER (EPP,DE), Rapporteur, holds a press conference on Net-Zero industry act during the plenary session. The "Net-Zero industry act" sets a target for Europe to produce 40% of net-zero technologies based on National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and to capture 25% of the global market value for these technologies. MEPs want to broaden the scope of the rules to encompass the entire supply chain, including components, materials, and machinery. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Strasbourg

plenary session

emissions of vehicles (T)

effort sharing regulation (T)

press conference

EHLER, Christian (EPP, DE)

European Green Deal (T)

Fit for 55 (T)

Press conference by Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), Rapporteur on Net-Zero industry Act

SOUNDBITE (English), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), Rapporteur So thank you very much for having me. I think today had been a very good day for the European climate and for the European economy. I think it showed that the parliament has a constructive majority who really wants to answer the question. First, how we react on the IRA, but secondly, how we react on the very fact that now we really need to contribute to the deal part of the Green Deal because we need a business case for the decarbonisation of the European economy.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), Rapporteur So the intention of the report, which found the constructive majority I've been talking about, is that we broaden the scope of the technologies simply because the Commission list was a little bit random. I think we describe now fairly precisely what kind of technologies we might need, although we are much more flexible in terms of that list, because I think it's a much more realistic approach to link that to the national technology and climate plans, which would mean that this is not a list forever as it is in the in the Commission proposal. It is flexible because Member States can adopt every four years via their national technology and climate plans, the technology list.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), Rapporteur Secondly, I think it shows a more thorough understanding of the, let's say, economic foundation of the proposal, because we introduced not the idea, but in practical terms, the economic reality that we are not talking about just production sites in Europe, we talk about the supply chain. So just a simple example. If you don't have a production on polysilicon left, you won't produce any PV panels in Europe. So we strengthen the the overall idea of having addressed all the technologies needed for the net zero technologies and the decarbonisation of the European industry. And then secondly, also referring to the supply chain, because otherwise we get more and more in global dependencies.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), Rapporteur Second aspect is ambition. I think in terms of the permitting. This is an ambitious proposal, but it's also a realistic proposal because we do not ask Member States generally to scrap their environmental laws, social standards or whatsoever by introducing the net zero values. We took up a proposal which had been floating for quite a while, and it had been already taken up by the Council. In terms of innovation, I think the innovation principle, the reference to the step plan, I mean, the whole setting of this proposal is not just appealing to something or doing symbolic politics. I think we have a very consistent idea of how that could work, how that is is linked to the other three parts of the Green Deal industrial proposals, so the critical raw materials and the step.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), Rapporteur And thirdly, I think what had been in one of our priorities, it's also that we had been relating to the idea that the innovation principle, the strengthening of innovation, is something we have to achieve. Last aspect is the question of public procurement. That had been obviously a compromise in the Parliament and very much backing up the idea that public procurement should also include, to some extent, backing up European industry. You saw the recent crisis of the windmill industry in Europe. The Commission had been in reacting with the given instruments on that. And if we really want to secure that, there is a basic production in all the sectors in the net zero technologies and we have to use public procurement in order to strengthen that.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), Rapporteur So overall, I think it's a very ambitious proposal, but it's not ambition. I think it's doing something which is highly needed. In the end of the term, we get realistic. We get really on the issues, which are important for the implementation of all our ambitions. And so even in terms of where is that proposal placed? It has two aspects. One, we really integrated that in the instruments already given, and we offered the Member States not just to appeal to them, I think we leave a lot of these proposals and we leave a lot of flexibility to Member States.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), Rapporteur And we have an idea how to finance that. That we got an agreement with our ENVI colleagues on the 20% national ETS revenues, which could be used. It is a realistic proposal because we are not asking for a new European budget, which is not going to appear upfront the European elections. We can be fast if we would have a negotiated result with the Council, we could actually start.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), Rapporteur So I wouldn't say, this is all the answers you want might need by the challenge we are facing by the IRA. But I think it's a much more substantial approach, an integrated approach than the original proposal of the Commission had been. Is it last sentence controversial between us and the Commission? No, I mean, the Commission had been writing that proposal with a relatively hot needle. I mean, you have you saw or you might have listened to Commissioner Breton yesterday evening in the plenary. So the Commission had been welcoming already a lot of this idea, the supply chain, the broadening of the technology list, so I don't expect that there will be controversial discussions, the Commission moderating against the Parliament. I think we are fairly in line with the Commission on that proposal, and it will be interesting to negotiate with the Council.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), Rapporteur Last sentence, beyond what is really addressed in the proposal, what you see is, could be the blueprint for the implementation policy of the Green Deal in the next term. You saw that even before we had been finishing our negotiations in the Council, that had been taken up by President von der Leyen, when she said in the a State of Europe speech that yes, we have to address now the issue of the business case for the decarbonisation of the European industry. She had been referring to other parts of our proposals like deregulation, like a methodology to address that, to make it simpler.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), Rapporteur And no, this is not an attempt to scrap social achievements or environmental law. It's simply reflecting the very fact that our industry is burdened by regulation in a way that we can't expect them to succeed if we really want to have them on our side and if we really have to have an economic future for the European industry. By decarbonisation of the European industry. So thank you for the moment.

Q&amp;A Questions regarding on the scope of technologies eligible for state aid and the expectations for the discussions with the Commission and the Member States.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), Rapporteur -

Q&A Questions regarding on the upcoming trialogue.

Q&A Question regarding on the impact of financial problems in the Member States.

Q&A Question regarding on the oil and gas obligation for CO2 removals.

Q&amp;A Question regarding on whether the act is still a good answer to the decisions taken by the US government.