In this edition of Brussels, my love?, we hear how the European Commission is juggling multiple files in the context of geopolitical turmoil.
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00:00 [Music]
00:12 Hi there and welcome to "Prussel, je t'aime", Euronews' weekend talk show.
00:17 On Brussels, my love, we zoom in on some of the stories in the news lately
00:22 and hear what's at stake for you and of course for Europe.
00:25 I'm Maeve McMahon, thanks for tuning in.
00:28 Coming up this week, it's a race against the clock for the European Commission.
00:32 In the context of a volatile geopolitical backdrop,
00:35 the EU executive has put its final to-do list for 2024 on the table.
00:40 The 14-page document has infuriated civil society though,
00:44 for ditching promises made in areas like animal welfare and the environment.
00:48 We read between the lines.
00:50 And autumn has arrived in Brussels, but on people's minds,
00:54 the extreme heat of the summer, the wildfires and toxic air pollution.
00:59 NGOs club together this week to underline the multinationals
01:03 that they believe hold some responsibility for fueling the climate crisis.
01:07 We take a look at what it will take to wean Europe off its addiction for fossil fuels.
01:12 With our panel this week, Ladislav Ilčić, Croatian MEP from the European Conservatives and Reformists.
01:18 Yeah, nice to see you again.
01:20 Welcome back. Susanna Karp, Climate and Energy Expert from the Foundation for European Citizenship.
01:26 Welcome.
01:27 Thank you very much. Happy to be here.
01:29 And Ciarán Cuff, Irish MEP from the Green Party.
01:32 Good to be here.
01:33 Well, thanks for joining us.
01:35 It's obviously been a very busy week here in Brussels,
01:37 but all focus, of course, was on that EU summit discussing the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
01:42 But as you've seen there, we'd like to focus on whether or not the EU Commission
01:46 is delivering on the promises that it made at the start of its mandate.
01:50 With EU elections looming, the European Commission has presented its final work programme.
01:58 Plans to protect our air and water remain on top, but others have slipped off the radar,
02:05 like reforming the chemical regulation REACH, promoting a law on sustainable food,
02:10 and modernising animal welfare legislation.
02:15 Also creating FĂĽhrer, a Commission plan to extend the approval of glyphosate.
02:20 Environmentalists warn the weed killer is dangerous for our health and the environment.
02:25 Supporters say a ban would be detrimental to Europe's farm industry.
02:30 As politicians play tug-of-war, we ask ourselves if the EU's commitment
02:36 to an environmentally-friendly future is waning.
02:43 So there you have it here, the 14-page plan of the European Commission.
02:46 It wasn't really reported, obviously, with all the bigger stories going on in the world.
02:50 Did you have a look?
02:51 Yes, absolutely.
02:52 What did you think of it?
02:53 Well, for years we've been saying that this extreme green plan is not realistic.
02:59 And when we say that it is not realistic, so it means that it is not real to expect
03:03 that it is implemented in the real world.
03:06 So I think that what we see now is just a consequence of too ambitious green approach.
03:13 So, for example, it's not explicit to say that, but for example, we planned in the European Union
03:20 to have 50,000 heat pumps more, and now we want to ban F-gases,
03:26 which are a needed part of heat pumps.
03:30 So we have to decide if we want to have heat pumps or we want to ban F-gases.
03:35 So it's not contradictory.
03:37 Why did the European Commission over-promise then if they knew they wouldn't be able to deliver
03:41 a couple of years back when they made all these bold promises with the Green Deal?
03:44 Well, I think if you look at the news, if you look at what's going on in the world,
03:49 particularly on the climate and the biodiversity crisis, we need to take action,
03:54 and we need to take action quickly.
03:56 So the European Commission came up with a long list of what was needed.
04:01 And, yes, they haven't delivered on some aspects of the list, but actually I think they need to go further
04:07 because we're on course to 2.4 degrees of warming.
04:10 But they're not going further. That's what we're seeing there, Suzanne.
04:12 And I think that's disappointing.
04:14 So, first of all, I think there is a problem shifting going on at this point in time,
04:19 and indeed I was disappointed to see on the remaining Commission programme
04:23 that indeed the REACH revision had been dropped and that many elements that were expected
04:29 have actually been pushed to maybe a future mandate.
04:32 The reason why I think this is disappointing is because those sustainable frontrunners
04:37 have actually already built these into their research and development plans.
04:40 And so what is effectively happening is that we are delaying investments in the solutions
04:46 that we actually need to have a net zero economy.
04:50 And also what this does is it increases the long-term cost of the transition.
04:55 So, from my perspective, I thought since the beginning of the EU Green Deal
04:59 that the last year would actually be the one that shows whether this Commission
05:03 was truly committed to this pathway or not.
05:06 And what I'm finding right now is that by taking these decisions to delay some of the obvious areas of action,
05:14 we're overall increasing the cost of this transition.
05:17 So, this is, in my view, a wasteful approach because we need to bring to market...
05:20 Just, you mentioned REACH. Let's bring in Ciarán Coff.
05:22 Did you keep an eye on that, the fact that the REACH was just ditched?
05:25 I think it's really disappointing that it's been ditched.
05:28 And Ladislav talked about this programme being extreme.
05:31 But when you look at the deaths from air pollution in Europe,
05:36 over 300,000 premature deaths per year, COVID really showed us the importance of clean air
05:42 and the importance of taking action, whether it's on microplastics that are polluting our rivers and seas
05:49 or whether it's on the chemicals that we use.
05:52 We need to take action on these.
05:54 I guess it's kicking the can in the road.
05:56 Of course, of course, we all would have as few pollutions as possible.
06:00 But it is just a question of the path.
06:03 And here we have the studies of the European Commission presented in the Agriculture Committee,
06:10 which shows that European production will decrease for 20% until 2027
06:17 and that the income of farmers will decrease for 16%.
06:21 So what will be the consequence of this, especially in Croatia?
06:26 People will go and buy food from third countries, which is not this.
06:31 We have the highest ecological standards in the world.
06:34 So what is the real approach?
06:36 You can put even stricter and stricter rules in the European Union, but we are not a closed world.
06:42 So people will buy food from third countries.
06:45 We had as well a couple of years ago that proposal on the farm to fork strategy,
06:50 which was meant to make sure that the food we eat was fair and more sustainable.
06:54 That's also been taken off that list, Susanna.
06:57 Indeed, and it is surprising, not least in light of the events that we saw this summer
07:03 and also during September in Greece when we had terrible floods,
07:06 which actually have affected the agricultural yield of the soils for the next 10 years.
07:11 So we're actually in a situation in which we should be investing more in making,
07:16 let's say, the situation of farming in Europe resilient to climate change
07:21 and actually increasing the farmers' ability to take part in the transition.
07:25 And we're seeing a step in the opposite direction.
07:27 Well, just on that note of farmers, I mean, one topic as well that we've been discussing here in Brussels
07:32 for the last few weeks is the ongoing discussion on glyphosate,
07:35 the most talked about herbicide probably in the whole world.
07:38 There's a big row now here in Brussels about whether or not to ban the weed killer.
07:44 What are your thoughts on that, Vlasov?
07:45 So for me, of course, I would like to have as few glyphosate as possible.
07:51 But it is the question again about the dynamic, and dynamic depends on a certain country.
07:58 For example, in Croatia, we are much more oriented to organic food.
08:01 We don't have that problem with, like, for example, the Netherlands has.
08:06 So I'm not for a complete ban, and we have to be realistic in this approach.
08:11 Of course, we have to do this, everything to decrease the use, but --
08:17 Let's just bring our viewers up to speed there, Vlasov.
08:20 Just long story short, the license for glyphosate expires this December.
08:24 EU countries voted back in October, couldn't reach an agreement.
08:28 So the Commission has proposed renewing, of course, this authorization for the next 10 years,
08:31 but the countries cannot agree.
08:33 So Austria and Luxembourg voting against, France abstaining, and Kirchhoff in November,
08:38 I believe there will be another vote.
08:40 There will, and in a sense the can has been kicked down the road a bit on this,
08:45 because it is so contentious.
08:47 And the great news from some countries like Croatia is that you can have a thriving organic agriculture
08:53 without the use of these intensive chemicals.
08:56 And then in countries like the Netherlands, where the soil is not in the good and healthy condition,
09:02 we're just putting more and more chemicals into the mix.
09:05 So we have to have healthy soil, and we have to protect nature.
09:09 And a huge amount of the debate over the last few months has been about how we achieve this.
09:14 The nature restoration law is part of that.
09:17 Reducing the use of glyphosate, I think, is hugely important.
09:22 But just as consumers, Susanna, what should we believe?
09:24 Because we've seen the WHO saying that it's carcinogenic and then cancerogenic,
09:28 and then we've seen the European Chemicals Agency say, no, it's absolutely fine to use.
09:32 Well, I would take the European treaties as the starting point.
09:35 We do have a precautionary principle enshrined in the treaties,
09:39 and so therefore any sort of chemicals that could indeed be harmful should not actually be on the market.
09:46 So until the question you ask gets, let's say, an answer that is supported by the scientific consensus,
09:53 so we know whether or not it is linked to cancer, then it shouldn't be on the market.
09:58 But this approach is really missing something.
10:00 For example, now I'm breathing and I exhale CO2.
10:05 Now, you won't take the gun and kill me because this CO2 is harmful for the planet.
10:11 So there are other criteria you have to consider.
10:17 So, for example, you mentioned at the beginning civil society, NGO,
10:20 but just one civil society, but just one type of NGO, and this is environmental NGOs.
10:27 What about farmers in the Netherlands?
10:29 This is why we're having this conversation, because everyone needs to be heard.
10:33 So we need different criteria.
10:36 So what I'm saying is we have the aim, but we have to find an appropriate path to achieve this,
10:42 a realistic path, because we need alternatives.
10:45 I want to just very quickly reflect on what was said,
10:48 because the concept of a net zero economy does not mean that we will not have any CO2.
10:53 The whole point is that the planet and nature can actually balance itself out.
10:58 And so, therefore, farmers, as well as other participants to the sort of economic activities
11:04 and supply chains, need to be able to reach net zero.
11:07 And so you have discussions around carbon farming.
11:10 You have discussions about other, let's say, solutions that can contribute to net zero.
11:14 The point is not to ban you from breathing, and I'm actually disappointed this metaphor was brought up.
11:20 The point is to fundamentally restructure our economy to be more circular.
11:24 Of course, we need, it's just a sentence, we need a sustainability.
11:30 I understand that.
11:31 But you have antinatalism, which says that we are not supposed to have more children because they--
11:35 I'm going to stop you there, Ladislao.
11:36 That's not what the conversation is about, because I want to talk about farmers.
11:40 I mentioned farmers, and farmers across the continent are using glyphosate every single day.
11:44 Like Quentin Le Goulou, he is from the French Young Farmers Union,
11:48 and he lives in the French village of Saint-Loubain-de-la-Haie.
11:50 Take a listen.
11:51 On my farm, I use glyphosate.
11:55 Now, in autumn, when sowing wheat two or three days before,
11:58 I always spread a small amount of glyphosate to destroy all the weeds.
12:07 In fact, if tomorrow Europe was to ban glyphosate, I would be paralyzed.
12:11 I would have to invest in some tools and equipment that I don't have anymore.
12:14 So we don't have any alternative except to use intensive soil preparation equipment.
12:19 That would mean more CO2, an increase in carbon release,
12:22 whereas today we've been asked to do the opposite, and glyphosate allows us to do it.
12:26 Today, we are asked to use carbon capture, which we are able to do with glyphosate.
12:31 So, interesting perspective there from Quentin Le Goulou.
12:34 He's speaking there to Paul Larocque-Hoppenau, and he relies on it every day.
12:38 I think he's one voice.
12:40 He's an important voice in the debate, but there are many different views on this.
12:44 Certainly from the organic farming lobby,
12:47 they have huge concerns at the overuse of chemicals on our fields,
12:51 and I think those concerns are valid.
12:55 Take a little drink of water.
12:57 Of course, we need farmers.
12:59 We need also that farmer, because he produces food,
13:03 and we need food security.
13:05 So we have to respect also this.
13:07 And as I said, we have to find the right dynamic in achieving this goal.
13:13 So from my side, the idea that the European Union can ban something overnight
13:18 is disconnected from the reality of how technology mandates or banning mandates work in the European Union,
13:24 which is that there would be a period to implement a ban,
13:27 during which you could actually find natural products that can replace it.
13:32 And I would like to think that the sustainable use of pesticides would indeed help farmers in that direction.
13:39 So to find natural replacements.
13:41 And there's a lot of supports in making this transition.
13:44 And I think there's a lot of hysteria about you're going to be stopped from doing A, B, and C.
13:49 But actually, the way the European Union works, it helps people along the way.
13:53 There's recovery and resilience plans.
13:55 There's funding available.
13:56 There's technical support.
13:58 So it's not about a blanket ban.
14:00 It's continuously supporting, you know, every cut we want to make, you know, doesn't bring anywhere.
14:08 You know, we cannot survive.
14:10 Our agriculture cannot survive on the funding of the European Union because this money comes from some...
14:17 Okay, I'm going to stop you there.
14:18 I want to move on.
14:19 Because, of course, there's a lot...
14:21 It doesn't come from the space.
14:22 Let us have... I'd like to move on because, of course, the European Commission has a lot to get through
14:26 before, of course, the EU elections take place in a couple of months.
14:29 And I'd like to talk about another issue that did not feature in their plan, and that is animal welfare.
14:34 NGOs were hoping that promises that were made back in 2019 would be kept.
14:39 For more, I spoke to the expert, Joe Moran.
14:41 He comes from Four Paws, Europe.
14:44 The current law on animal welfare is profoundly out of date.
14:48 We know that it doesn't work.
14:50 Worryingly, the Commission have said this time and again themselves.
14:54 It's there in black and white documents from the last two, three years.
14:58 And yet, at the moment, we're only getting one of the four proposals that were promised.
15:05 So my message is it's time for the Commission to recommit to this.
15:10 The Commission cares more about the interests of industry and lobbyists
15:15 than they care about the interests and concerns of citizens.
15:19 And just to point out as well, that was Joe Moran from Four Paws, but he's not alone.
15:24 He told me that almost two million people as well have signed a petition, known as the European Citizen Initiative,
15:30 calling for a ban as well on fur farms in Europe.
15:32 There was a debate last week in Strasbourg, but nothing's really coming of this, Susanna.
15:38 Indeed. So we are very concerned about the issue of European Citizens Initiative being ignored and, in fact, not acted upon.
15:47 So with the Foundation for European Citizenship, we have had our own European Citizens Initiative.
15:51 We know it's extremely hard to gather the signatures.
15:54 This effort from European citizens should actually be respected.
15:58 And if anything, it should be moved on a fast track procedure.
16:01 But it's not happening. I mean, should this whole idea of a European Citizens Initiative just be put aside and tell citizens,
16:08 honestly, I'm sorry, but we can't implement what you want.
16:11 No, Citizens Initiatives are very important.
16:13 Of course, when you have Citizens Initiative, you have one kind of people who care about one, let's say, approach,
16:21 and then you have another approach and then you have to make the balance.
16:25 And that's also in the question of animal welfare.
16:28 So we shall agree that we have to take care about animal welfare.
16:32 But again, we have the highest standards of animal welfare.
16:37 Sorry? Did you say we have the highest standards?
16:40 We have the highest standards in the world.
16:41 And yet animals are being put into trucks and into ships for days, if not weeks on end.
16:47 And I think we have to improve animal welfare.
16:50 Let's hear from Ciarán Cuff.
16:52 But we're not Ukraine, we're not America, we're Europe.
16:55 Of course, that's what I'm saying.
16:57 We should look at ourselves and look at the respect and the care that we provide for animals.
17:02 And I think in the year 2023, we should be showing more compassion and more care in our farming practices.
17:09 But Ciarán, did you make that point last week in the European Parliament?
17:13 Well, I said it very – myself and my colleagues have been saying this for a long time,
17:18 that we need to go further with animal welfare protection.
17:21 And it's not just about the travel.
17:23 It's about the slaughtering practices and it's about keeping large animals in cages where they can't move.
17:28 Exactly.
17:29 For the rest of our lives.
17:30 I agree. These are good wishes.
17:33 We've found common ground.
17:34 These are not wishes.
17:36 Yes, these are demands from European citizens under the End the Cage ECI.
17:42 Then they can vote.
17:43 This is not the point because the European treaties say they can do more than vote.
17:47 They actually have political rights, including to sign an ECI.
17:50 And if the European Commission accepts the ECI as being in its mandate, and if the threshold is reached,
17:55 they need to put forward the legislative proposal addressing the demand of citizens.
18:00 Correctly.
18:01 And so we are in a situation where the European Commission is ignoring the demand of citizens
18:06 and elected representatives of citizens should be there defending their point.
18:10 You know, I was active in NGOs for 20 years, so you don't have to speak –
18:16 tell me about the importance of citizens' initiatives.
18:20 It is very important, but finally it is a citizen initiative.
18:24 And there are political bodies which are elected on elections which have to make decisions.
18:30 So it is the way of democracy.
18:32 You have to choose democracy or not.
18:34 And just going back to animal welfare, Larissa.
18:36 Yes, I want to say something about that.
18:40 So these are good wishes, but then we have to respect –
18:43 They are not wishes.
18:44 They are demands.
18:45 Demands of citizen initiative and so on.
18:47 Exactly.
18:48 But we have to see the reality.
18:49 But they're clearly –
18:50 And the reality is market.
18:52 And on market, we have to compete other –
18:55 But, Larissa, just bear with me.
18:57 This is a right-wing view. Let the market sort this out.
19:01 And I think actually one of the purposes of democracies is to regulate the market.
19:06 And that's what the European Union has done for the last 70 years.
19:11 And in many areas, we need to take further action.
19:13 The Commission said it would act, and yet we're coming to the end of the term.
19:17 This is the issue at stake here.
19:18 The purpose of democracy is to listen to our voters, to listen to our citizens.
19:22 And just one sentence about this.
19:23 Very briefly, we're out of time.
19:24 We can speak about –
19:25 Larissa, we're out of time, I'm afraid.
19:27 We'll have to stop you there.
19:28 We have to increase the temperature in the trucks when we bring animals to slaughter.
19:32 Larissa, I'm going to have to stop you there.
19:33 We will come back to that topic.
19:35 As we can see, it is one that rises the temperature here in the studio.
19:38 But thank you so much to our panelists for being with us.
19:41 And thank you so much for watching.
19:43 Stay with us, though, because after the break,
19:45 we'll be taking you on an unconventional tour of Brussels' EU quarter.
19:50 [Music]
19:57 Welcome back to Brussels, my love, EURO News' weekly talk show.
20:01 I'm Maeve McMahon, and along with Ladislav Ilčić, Ciarán Cuff and Susanna Karp,
20:06 we're talking through some of the stories in the news lately.
20:09 And one item that caught our eye this week was a protest in the EU quarter,
20:13 naming and shaming the EU Commission for relying on the fossil fuel industry
20:17 to shape their Repower EU programme.
20:20 That's meant, of course, to wean the continent off fossil fuels.
20:24 A sightseeing bus took reporters around the EU quarter,
20:27 stopping at all the big multinationals that NGOs feel are partly responsible
20:32 for fueling the climate crisis.
20:34 NGOs like Friends of Europe, Corporate Europe Observatory and Greenpeace
20:37 were all on board.
20:39 So was I, and I spoke to the activist Silvia Pastorelli to ask her
20:42 what her message for EU politicians was.
20:45 Fossil fuel companies have been profiting off the energy crisis
20:49 that's been impacting people every day.
20:52 And instead, while we're at a point where the whole of the EU could have turned
20:57 and made decisions that would have benefited people and the planet,
21:00 these companies actually have doubled down on their lobbying,
21:04 lobbying against windfall taxes, lobbying against measures that would have
21:09 helped people stay warm in their homes.
21:13 And what we want to see is these polluters to be out of politics and people in.
21:19 Silvia Pastorelli there on a very noisy bus.
21:22 I hope you were able to catch the sound there.
21:24 Ladislav, did you see that protest? Do you think they have a point?
21:27 We are a multiplier of the environmental NGOs' protest, but I got the point.
21:32 But when we speak about fuels, fossil fuels and alternatives,
21:37 of course I would like to see more alternatives, more cleaner energy.
21:42 But again, there is a question of reality.
21:45 How fast we can produce alternatives.
21:48 And since now it seems that we have this energy crisis because of
21:53 unrealistic green approach to the energy.
21:56 Well, they would disagree.
21:58 Give the power to greens and you will see what will happen like in Germany.
22:03 You know, they have closed all nuclear power plants and finally they reopen
22:08 coal power plants, which we shall open.
22:11 I agree that they are much worse.
22:14 Let's get the view from Susanna Karp because I would like to remind our viewers
22:19 that you also work for Clean Tech Europe, an organization which is trying
22:23 to contribute as well to this transition.
22:25 Indeed.
22:26 And I should say that perhaps this is the biggest credibility issue around
22:30 the EU Green Deal Commission, which is that last year, as we found out from
22:34 a report that came out this week, but effectively the subsidies for fossil fuels
22:38 doubled in the European Union.
22:40 This is from the Enerdata inventory of energy subsidies.
22:43 And so we're talking about 103 billion euros that have been given in subsidies
22:48 to fossil fuels when in fact we know that the European Union needs this money
22:53 to be competitive in the global clean tech race.
22:56 We've seen the United States going ahead with the Inflation Reduction Act.
22:59 We know that China as well as other players around the world are investing
23:03 heavily in the clean technologies of the future.
23:06 And so instead of doing that, we are seeing that money from Repower EU,
23:10 which by the way has been lent, has been borrowed under Next Generation EU,
23:16 is now being used to effectively support the industries of the past,
23:20 those industries that the EU Green Deal was meant to have us move away from.
23:24 Ciarán, I guess the challenge for the Commission is to stay competitive as well
23:27 while going green, so it'll have to take time.
23:30 I think we need to move faster though.
23:32 Actually, the price spikes that we saw last winter were all around fossil fuels.
23:36 Even at the moment as we speak, oil is back up to $90 a barrel.
23:41 That is causing real pain to working families who are really struggling
23:46 to meet the bills at the end of the month.
23:48 So actually I think the lesson is we need to move away from fossil fuels,
23:52 from oil and from gas.
23:54 And the price of renewables has come down a huge amount in recent years.
23:58 I know in my own country 40% of the electricity comes from renewables,
24:02 and actually by the end of the decade that will be 70%.
24:06 It's a good news story.
24:07 We need to invest in electricity grids.
24:10 We need to invest in insulating our homes.
24:12 We need to use European money for the right things, not for the bad things.
24:17 And one thing I would argue for is that we need a fund to upgrade our housing stock
24:22 so that people have lower fuel bills.
24:25 Well, this topic of fossil fuels, of course, will probably be huge at COP28
24:28 taking place in Dubai in a couple of weeks.
24:31 We heard as well this week from the International Energy Agency releasing a report
24:35 saying that clean transition is unstoppable, Susanna, but fossil fuels will still peak.
24:39 I'm going to jump in.
24:40 Wait till I finish.
24:41 In the next few years.
24:43 The clean transition is imminent.
24:46 The question is whether the European Union wants to be in the lead or not.
24:50 Indeed, the world is going in that direction, not least because as part of the
24:54 clean energy transition, we're also talking about adaptation to climate change.
24:58 But the reality is that fossil fuels will still peak.
25:00 That's what they're saying in the next couple of years.
25:02 Not just this.
25:03 I have the solar panels on my roof, so it's just for the public to understand
25:08 that I'm not against the cleaner energy.
25:11 But, again, the dynamic is important.
25:16 So we see that we have the energy crisis which started before the war in Ukraine.
25:23 It started because the European Union --
25:25 What about lobbyists?
25:26 Sorry.
25:27 We closed classical power plants before and faster than we opened alternatives,
25:34 which are not that stable.
25:35 Just to get back to the point of the protest this week, they were speaking as well
25:38 about the impact of lobbyists here in Brussels.
25:41 They are lobbyists, too.
25:42 There are two lobbyists.
25:43 Of course.
25:44 And I think --
25:45 First of all, they are the fighters for the truth.
25:50 There is a massive difference between lobbying for corporate profit
25:54 and doing advocacy for the public good.
25:56 I would like to think that the protestors are advocating for the public good.
26:01 I will say that these NGOs receive huge amounts of money of European citizens,
26:06 a huge amount.
26:08 Brussels' bubble is full of people who receive huge amounts of money who say --
26:13 I have seen protests such as Fridays for a Future all throughout the European countries.
26:18 This is not a Brussels phenomenon.
26:20 This has been signed by a number of organizations and academics
26:24 all across the European Union.
26:25 It's not just the three NGOs that we mentioned.
26:27 It is not.
26:28 Just briefly before we go, we don't have Iberdrola or any of the companies here
26:32 around the table with us to react, but we did reach out to them for a comment
26:36 because they have been underlined by those NGOs,
26:39 and they weren't too happy about that because they told us that they were a leader
26:43 in renewable energy, that their CO2 intensity emissions were 70% lower
26:47 than the average of the European electricity sector,
26:50 and that they have alliances with NGOs across the world.
26:53 Most of the oil companies will say this to you, but actually 90%, 96% of their investments
26:58 are still in oil and gas.
27:00 And yes, they have lovely multicolored pictures of wind turbines and solar panels,
27:05 but actually their money is 9 euro out of 10 is going into extracting oil and frying the planet.
27:12 Even though Iberdrola also told me that they are pulling out of Mexico where they were drilling for oil.
27:18 Be thankful for small mercies.
27:20 I'm going to stop you there.
27:21 We will come back to that topic in a few weeks as COP28 begins.
27:27 We'll be keeping a very close eye on that, but for now that is, I'm afraid, all we have time for.
27:31 Thank you so much to our panel, and thank you for watching.
27:34 We'll see you soon here on Euronews, and of course over on Euronews.com.
27:38 [Music]
27:46 Hello there, welcome back to Brussels, my love, Euronews' weekly talk show.
27:51 I'm Maeve McMahon, and along with my panel, we're talking through some of the stories that caught our eye this week.
27:57 And one that stood out was a report released by the non-profit organization, the European Youth Forum,
28:02 that we reported about here on Euronews, about how European governments are,
28:06 according to their data, failing young people.
28:09 Seemingly, Europe has made no progress, according to their data, since 2018,
28:14 in areas like access to affordable housing, access to education, violent incidents, and also young women's safety.
28:21 Now, this Youth Progress Index is seemingly the most comprehensive measurement of young people's well-being in the world.
28:27 It's not just about Europe now. We're talking about 150 countries worldwide.
28:31 Are you surprised with this data?
28:33 No, I'm not surprised.
28:35 I think the crises of the last few years have been hugely challenging, particularly for young people.
28:41 I mean, for an older person, living through COVID was tough,
28:44 but I think for a young person, just as they're trying to get out in the world, the hatches were battened down.
28:51 So I think it was really difficult for young people's mental health.
28:54 I think it was really difficult in terms of getting employment.
28:57 And I think we have to tackle these issues. We have to tackle the housing crisis.
29:02 Would young people relate to that report?
29:04 So first, about the reality of this research, if that was the truth, that young people in Europe are so unsatisfied,
29:14 I have to say that I haven't seen thousands of young people moving from Europe to Morocco and Pakistan,
29:22 but I saw thousands of people, young people coming from Morocco and Pakistan to Europe.
29:28 So something that stupid, I haven't heard for a long time.
29:31 So it is so unrealistic. We can speak now that European young people are spoiled and then give me...
29:40 I'm just going to stop you there. I want to bring in one of the ladies who was involved in that report from the European Youth Forum, Andrea Cristiano.
29:47 We really want decision makers to look more closely into young people's dissatisfaction with housing.
29:53 We know that one in two young Europeans are dissatisfied with the housing affordability at the moment,
30:00 the freedom of peaceful assembly, which has been decreasing in Europe, and to ensure access to justice, freedom of religion and so on.
30:07 They need to be fully represented in the European Parliament, for example.
30:11 By the way, there is only one at the time of elections, there were only six members of the European Parliament and under the age of 30.
30:19 So that is really low.
30:20 Susanna, a reaction to what you heard there and what the panellists have said?
30:23 Indeed, I think there is actually a massive gap between what happens on the economic side with the European Union,
30:29 including through Next Generation EU, so effectively advancing economic integration for the young generation as well, in particular,
30:37 and political involvement of the youth.
30:40 We are no longer in the age where we should be deciding for the youth.
30:44 We actually have to find a way to allow youth to be empowered to decide for themselves.
30:48 What I've noticed is that when it comes to, let's say, even lowering the voting age,
30:53 while countries like Belgium have actually made a step forward in that direction,
30:57 so next year in the European Parliament elections, you will have 16-year-old voting.
31:02 And how would the European Parliament, just very briefly, I'll ask our MEPs,
31:06 how would the European Parliament change if you had more young MEPs in there?
31:09 I think that the left will propose some quotas, because they like quotas and they like to be unrealistic.
31:15 My question is how would it change?
31:17 Just to add this sentence, we didn't hear the answer where we shall get all this energy until 2030
31:23 for all these electric cars, batteries, lithium, and a lot of realistic questions.
31:29 We didn't hear the answers, and now we don't hear the answers.
31:32 Hiron, what are your thoughts?
31:34 The European Parliament has a lot of older people, like myself, in it.
31:38 The kind of issues we talk about are often to do with our concerns, pensions, things like that,
31:42 health care for older people, but actually from younger people, young people want homes,
31:46 they want jobs, they want a decent quality of life,
31:49 and I think that would change the kind of laws that we produce.
31:52 I think it's crucial that any parliamentary assembly is representative of the people.
31:57 We will keep a very close eye on those European elections.
32:01 We are out of time. Thank you so much.
32:04 Thanks for coming.
32:06 Thank you for the invitation.
32:08 Thank you for coming and for your insights.
32:10 Ciarán Cuff, you too.
32:11 My pleasure.
32:12 And thanks of course to you for watching.
32:13 If you want to reach out, if you have any comments on what you've heard today,
32:16 our email address is brusselsmylove@euronews.com.
32:20 You can also find us on social media and on Instagram,
32:23 but we'll see you soon here on Euronews.
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