This edition of State of the Union focuses on the catastrophic floods in central Europe, the presentation of the EU commissioners-designate and the economic power of the European Green Deal.
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00:00Hello and welcome to State of the Union, I'm Stefan Grobe in Strasbourg.
00:09We don't normally start this program with the weather, but Central Europe was battered
00:14by so much torrential rain and deadly flooding that it pushed everything else to the back
00:19burner this week.
00:20At least 21 people were killed in four countries when Storm Boris dumped up to five times the
00:26average September rainfall on parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia
00:34in just four days, turning entire regions into disaster zones.
00:39Towns and villages were devastated, hundreds of thousands were forced to evacuate.
00:44National authorities considered emergency funds for the affected areas and the European
00:49Commission in Brussels was also wondering how the EU can support them in repair and
00:54reconstruction, knowing that extreme rainfall becomes more common and intense.
01:01This topic will be of growing importance, so this is something where we really have
01:08together as Europeans to decide how we can manage and finance the growing need of adaptation
01:14and repair that we will see in the years to come.
01:18Working for environmental resilience and transforming Europe's economy into a competitive industrial
01:24might of the future will be the task of the new EU Commission that was La Fondalain presented
01:30this week.
01:31A large chunk of that task will land on the desk of one of her top nominees, Spain's
01:37Teresa Ribera.
01:39Her portfolio was named Clean, Just and Competitive Transition.
01:44I am very thankful for this invitation to get such a big responsibility that tackles
01:52the economic and industrial challenges for the European business community and the clean,
01:58the green challenges that do define how much, how well, how important is to take into consideration
02:08all the elements together.
02:10When Fondalain announced her new team of commissioners, she reassured reporters that climate change
02:16still dominates the Commission's agenda, together with competitiveness and security.
02:21To discuss all this, let's bring in Susana Karp, Deputy Executive Director of Clean Tech for Europe.
02:27Welcome to the program.
02:28Thank you very much, Stefan.
02:30Happy to be here.
02:31So at the core of the European economic power is the Green Deal, setting the framework for
02:36industries and jobs.
02:38Does the new composition of the EU Commission reflect that?
02:42Absolutely.
02:43If anything, the composition of the new European Commission confirms the policy objectives
02:49set by the EU Green Deal, but looks towards competitiveness as a compass in asking the question,
02:56how are we going to transform our European economy?
03:00And in the way the portfolios have been allocated, we can see quite a clear vision as to how
03:06this will happen.
03:07What's at the core of this vision is how are we going to turn our early leadership
03:13in industrial decarbonisation into long-lasting competitiveness and leadership for Europe
03:19on the global scene?
03:22So in that regard, I would say the portfolios are very telling.
03:28So indeed, where we are right now is moving from the if the Green Deal survives or not
03:35to how are we going to make it happen?
03:38And it's quite a comprehensive strategy, I would say, cutting across multiple portfolios.
03:44So effectively, the Green Deal has been mainstreamed into a new economic vision,
03:50a new economic doctrine.
03:52The centre of gravity of the new European Parliament has shifted to the right.
03:57Are you worried that the Green Deal could be undermined or at least watered down?
04:02No, I don't have this concern.
04:05Certainly not after having read the mission letters, because what we're seeing is that
04:10the objectives are upheld and in some regards even strengthened.
04:14This is quite clear when the reference to the 2040 climate target for the EU is mentioned
04:20in the letter to Commissioner Hoekstra for climate to net zero and clean growth.
04:25So the direction is quite clear, I would say.
04:29I don't think there is any possibility of backtracking.
04:33The Draghi report was criticised by some for lacking the boldness to really drive
04:39the transition towards a green industrial policy.
04:42What's your take?
04:44Interesting.
04:45I thought the analysis of the report was extremely accurate and perhaps the boldness,
04:51the lack of boldness you're referring to is compensated by the bold vision
04:56of this European Commission.
04:58And so I guess, and I think this was the original idea, that the two go in tandem.
05:04What the Draghi report offers is an extremely sobering analysis of where Europe is situated
05:12vis-Ã -vis its global counterparts.
05:15And it goes into the reasons for that, right?
05:18What's needed now, I think, is the Member States, the Council and the Parliament
05:23to endorse this bold vision and to also be committed to do what it takes for us
05:29to actually secure our long-term competitiveness with Europe.
05:34All right, Susanna Karp, Deputy Executive Director of Clean Tech for Europe.
05:38Thanks for coming on the show today.
05:40Thank you so much.
05:43We started the show with an unusual segment about the weather
05:47and we want to finish it with another one, this time about sport.
05:51The 10th edition of the British Open in Speedgolf took place in Eskett.
05:56Speedgolf is an alternative golf format that adds a more athletic element
06:00to the normally easy-going game and it's getting increasingly popular.
06:05The tournament encapsulated the very essence of sport with an inclusive field
06:10of golf pros competing alongside amateur golfers, women and juniors.
06:17Players were set off at four-minute intervals with the aim of finding
06:21the sweet spot between pace and performance to maximize both.
06:26The fastest 18-hole round was under 24 minutes.
06:30The whole field of 56 players ranging in age from 12 to 58
06:34got their rounds finished in under an hour.
06:38The winner was a 33-year-old amateur from London who later said
06:42he put in the best performance of his life.
06:46Are you getting interested?
06:48The next big event is the World Speedgolf Championships
06:51hosted by Japan in November.
06:54That's it for this edition. I'm Stefan Grober.
06:57Thank you for watching. Have an excellent week.