Update: Climate change, unity on Sibiu summit agenda
The informal meeting of EU 27 leaders, which takes place Thursday, May 9, in the central Romania city of Sibiu, will occasion discussions on a host of topics, including a debate over the Union’s part in fighting climate change. <o:p></o:p>
RI Newsroom · Journalist
· Updated · 3 min read
The informal meeting of EU 27 leaders, which takes place Thursday, May 9, in the central Romania city of Sibiu, will occasion discussions on a host of topics, including a debate over the Union’s part in fighting climate change.
Eight countries have issued a paper ahead of the Sibiu summit asking the Union to “commit to phasing out carbon emissions by 2050 and dedicating 25% of the EU’s next long-term budget to projects fighting climate change,” Forbes reported.
The eight countries are France, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden.
The issue is to be voted on at an EU summit in June but the eight countries want the EU leaders to agree to the 2050 target earlier, at the Sibiu meeting, Forbes wrote.
The same paper argues in favor of the Union integrating its fragmented energy market.
Update: Speaking upon his arrival at the Sibiu event, French president Emmanuel Macron said he envisioned three major topics for discussion at the summit: the environment, the protection of Europe’s borders, and a social and economic growth model for Europe.
“Over the past two years we have made progress on projects concerning defense, a social Europe that is better integrated for everyone, and I see three important points at this summit. The environment – we need to obtain a commitment regarding zero carbon emissions by 2050, it is an essential commitment. The second point is the protection of Europe’s borders, we need to protect the Schengen area; a third point is fighting for a European growth model from an economic and social point of view, we need to focus on how digital civilization will progress and find a better way to integrate Europeans,” he said, quoted by News.ro.
In her turn, German chancellor Angela Merkel spoke before the summit about finding the “shared future.” “Even if we have different options, we will look for a shared future. We want to take measures to preserve security, welfare, but we are also interested in preserving European values and promoting them outside of the European Union,” she said,
