Dave KeatingMar 19
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni has come into today's #EUCO summit in Brussels calling for the EU to suspend its climate policy #EUETS in response to rising prices 9 Eastern EU countries also support an ETS adjustment, though not all are calling for suspension.

Meloni is trying to use oil pr...
Meloni is trying to use oil price shock to dismantle EU climate policy

EU countries with higher renewables and nuclear have been less impacted by the Iran War. So you might think Europe's right would back off its quest to dismantle EU climate policy. Think again.

Gulf Stream Blues
Show threadDave KeatingMar 19
Energy experts say it would be lunacy to respond to the energy price spikes caused by 🇺🇸🇮🇱 war on Iran by abandoning EU climate policy. “We already have the solution in place, and that's RePowerEU, and we've known about it since 2022” says Sabrina Schulz from European Initiative for Energy Security.
Show threadDave KeatingMar 19
Energy prices spiked again this morning after 🇺🇸🇮🇱 bombed the world's largest gas field 🇮🇷 retaliated by bombing the world's largest LNG production site. European gas prices have now more than doubled since the war started. It was €30 per megawatt-hour in February and it's €65 this morning.

Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ a...
Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ all of Iran’s South Pars gasfield if Tehran strikes Qatar

US president says ‘extremely important and valuable’ site will be targeted if Iran continues to attack Qatar facilities

The Guardian
Show threadDave KeatingMar 19
Experts say suspending ETS would have a very limited effect. “The ETS distracts from the real issue," says E3G's Manon Dufour. “Countries heavily reliant on gas like Italy are significantly more exposed. Those with stronger renewables, like Spain or the Nordics, are more insulated.”
Show threadDave KeatingMar 19
Entering the #EUCO summit, 🇪🇸PM Pedro Sanchez pushes back against Meloni's push to dismantle EU climate law as a solution to the 🇺🇸🇮🇱war on Iran. Countries with more renewables have been more shielded from these price shocks, he says. “This is strategic autonomy, this is defending Europe's interests."
Show threadDave KeatingMar 19
Cleantech is not ideological, he says, it is being done to protect households, stabilise markets, and reducine dependence on foreign energy. Solutions to this crisis must address the real root cause, he says. “We will adopt measures proportionate to the impact of this illegal war."
Show threadDave KeatingMar 19
Arriving at his first #EUCO summit, new Dutch PM Rob Jetten also defended #EUETS from Meloni's attacks. "Without the ETS we would be importing billions in fossil fuels," he told reporters. Nordic leaders have also come in defending EU climate policy.
Show threadDave KeatingMar 19
But don't underestimate Meloni's power in Brussels right now. This morning she managed to bring EU leaders to the Italian embassy for not 1 but *2* mini-summits before #EUCO. 1st a right-wing power breakfast with Merz & De Wever. And then the now-traditional "migration breakfast" discussing...

Consiglio europeo, incontro Me...
Consiglio europeo, incontro Meloni - Merz - De Wever sulla competività europea

Il Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri, Giorgia Meloni, il Cancelliere tedesco, Friedrich Merz, e il Primo Ministro belga Bart De Wever si sono incontrati a margine del Consiglio europeo per uno scambio di vedute in vista della discussione sulla competitività europea. [...]

www.governo.it
Show threadDave Keating
..."innovative solutions" for deportations with 16 EU countries. The far-right 🇮🇹PM has the highest domestic approval rating of any major 🇪🇺country (although it's slipping lately), making her one of if not the most powerful leader in the 🇪🇺Council - at least in terms of determining policy direction.

It's Meloni's Europe, and we'r...
It's Meloni's Europe, and we're just living in it

The Italian PM has pressured the EU into participating in Trump's "Board of Peace" as an observer. Amid a leadership vacuum at the top, Meloni is dictating Europe's Atlanticist right-wing direction.

Gulf Stream Blues
Mar 19 at 10:16amWeb