MEP Riho Terras (Isamaa/EPP) says that a draft EU priority list leaked to the media last week gives reason to hope that the European Commission will ditch the planned economy-like green transition and will instead prioritize the EU’s security and economic interests.
Discussions within the Council of the European Union regarding the EU’s strategic priorities are scheduled to take place in June. According to a document recently leaked to the media, the green transition is set to be supplanted as an EU priority by security, the protection of its external borders and the economy.
According to Terras, Isamaa’s top candidate in the upcoming European Parliament elections, environmental challenges must be addressed, but without sacrificing the European economy and people’s livelihoods.
“The influential publication Politico described the emphasis of the strategy paper with the phrase ‘Bullets, not bees,'” the former commander of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) said. “This comparison may not be to everyone’s liking, but it clearly illustrates that we must deal with the most crucial things first – namely increasing defense capabilities and the competitiveness of the European economy.”
According to Terras, Estonia needs to put things in the right perspective as well.
“Estonia’s economy is in its third year of decline, and its inflation indicators are among the highest in Europe,” he stressed. “Instead of ensuring economic growth and security, however, the Estonian government is engaging in increasing bureaucracy, planning endless tax hikes and overzealous green struggling.”
Politico highlighted that the content of the recent leaked document marked a significant departure from the EU’s 2019-2024 strategic agenda, in which one of its top four priorities was “building a climate-neutral, green, fair and social Europe.”
The draft document, it noted, is still subject to change before EU leaders endorse it following this June’s elections.
The 2024 European Parliament elections will be held on June 6-9.
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