Arrivals, roundtable of the Trilogue on Just Transition Fund, in the European Parliament in Brussels. Statement by Manolis KEFALOGIANNIS (EPP,EL), rapporteur, Younous OMARJEE (GUE/NGL,FR), REGI Chair, Heinz HETMEIER, German Presidency and Elisa FERREIRA, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms

Brussels

DORNEANU, Valer (RO)

KEFALOGIANNIS, Manolis (EPP, EL)

European Green Deal (T)

Trilogue on Just Transition Fund: arrivals, roundtable and statement by Manolis KEFALOGIANNIS (EPP,EL), rapporteur, Younous OMARJEE (GUE/NGL,FR), REGI Chair, Heinz HETMEIER, German Presidency and Elisa FERREIRA, European Commissioner Cohesion

SOUNDBITE (English), Elisa FERREIRA, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, I think there was a convergence from the two legislators around a very robust instrument that will that is from now onwards available so that all the regions that are selected to go through a very difficult but very challenging but very important adaptation in terms of energy that they know immediately how they can organize their plans. So we can immediately start discussing with the member states and with the regions in order to organize the best possible way for them to have a transition, minimizing as much as possible the social and economic costs of this transition because there is always a cost. But with this support, I am convinced that there will be a lot of very good examples in Europe of how you can have a win-win solution in which you make the transition. You anticipate the necessary change, but at the same time that you reduce to the minimum the costs on people, on the jobs, unemployment, on labor and also on the general development of the region so I'm really very pleased.

SOUNDBITE (English), Manolis KEFALOGIANNIS (EPP, EL), Rapporteur, It is the first piece of legislation, it has a special care to the regions who are affected by this new transition by 2050. We want to have the Green Deal. We want to have a Europe without CO2. So we have our care and our efforts to support all these regions, all the people who are living in this region and give their life easier and give new opportunities.

SOUNDBITE (English), Heinz HETMEIER, German Presidency, The very aim of the regulation is to mitigate the negative repercussions of the transition process to a greener and carbon free Europe for specific regions that are those regions mostly affected by this process. So the JTF (Just Transition Fund) is a specific piece of legislation directed to specific regions so they will get support and help. That is the good news for these regions and that is good news for the people living there.

SOUNDBITE (French), Younous OMARJEE (GUE/NGL, FR), Chair REGI Committee, In this regulation, we took out the gas. It was a question that arose and the JTF (Just Transition Fund) will not finance the gas. But above all, it is a regulation that speaks exactly the course of the Union's policies, no longer geared towards fossil fuels that belong to another bygone era. We are going to build a Europe that is oriented towards renewable energies so that we can move towards the objectives of the Paris Agreement. So it is a change that is absolutely fundamental, that is considerable. And my great pride is that cohesion policy as a whole is now a green cohesion policy. And in reality, cohesion policy has become the main support of the Green New Deal. We will have 330 billion euros turned towards climate objectives, to the environment, to biodiversity.