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CAN Europe’s reaction to the AccelerateEU Launch

CAN Europe’s reaction to the AccelerateEU Launch

Today, the European Commission released the sequel to REpowerEU, AccelerateEU. Overall, the proposal is a welcomed initiative from the Commission in reducing Europe’s dependency on fossil fuels, regardless of their origin, accelerate the transition to electrification and renewables, and commit to overall energy demand reduction. 

However, it is lacking a solid financial package to support these short-term relief and structural measures, in order to meaningfully scale up and reach those who need it most. The forthcoming state aid framework should not derail but support the EU’s path on energy independence- and not support fossil fuel generation.

No clear fossil fuel exit strategy 

The direction and narrative of Accelerate EU is overall positive in terms of reducing the EU’s fossil fuel dependency through electrification and energy savings. However, it is problematic that there are no concrete measures to address this dependency directly, in particular, the fossil gas dependency. Given the fact that the EU is going through yet another energy security crisis in four years, a clear exit strategy for fossil gas is needed. A concrete first step of this strategy should be to replicate gas demand reduction measures that have been implemented in 2022 and led to significant reductions in EU gas demand between 2022 and 2025 of close to 20%.

 

In addition, any temporary measures on State Aid for price relief, should not give a blank check to fossil gas fired power generation or infrastructure without a clear end date and climate contributions. This would stand in stark contradiction with the overall stated goal of reducing fossil fuel dependency. 

– Esther Bollendorff, Senior Gas Policy Expert at CAN Europe

Short-term measures

The European Commission’s new proposals recognises the much-needed immediate relief that are needed to protect vulnerable households – energy vouchers, social tariffs, progressive pricing, and protections against disconnection – while also accelerating the shift to renewable energy and greater energy efficiency. On transport, the focus on active mobility, car-sharing, and electrification is a step forward, but the Commission missed a crucial opportunity to prioritize large-scale investment in public transport, which is a solution for both affordability and sustainability.

Now, the responsibility lies with Member States to turn these measures into action- and to go further where the Commission fell short.

– Christophe Jost, Energy Policy Coordinator at Climate Action Network Europe

Commission’s reluctance to tax fossil fuel profits

“The Commission’s proposal to cut taxes on clean technologies—like electric vehicles, heat pumps, and solar panels—is a welcome step, but it risks leaving behind those who can’t afford the upfront costs. To be effective, these cuts must be paired with direct income support for low-income households.

 

The suggestion to reduce taxes on fossil fuels for energy-intensive industries should be strictly time-bound and tied to binding commitments embracing renewables, with transition plans developed with workers.

 

While tax reductions for electricity and clean tech are positive, the reality is clear: these cuts will reduce public revenues, forcing painful cuts elsewhere. Across Europe, people are already seeing their pensions, unemployment benefits, healthcare, and education slashed. The fair solution? A permanent tax on the colossal profits of fossil fuel companies—profits that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest 10%.

 

The Commission’s reluctance to tax fossil fuel profits raises a fundamental question: whose interests are being prioritized—Europeans or large polluting companies and their shareholders?”

–  Isabelle Brachet, Senior Fiscal and Just Transition Policy Coordinator at Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe

The timeline for the ETS review confirmed

We are pleased to see the timeline for the ETS review confirmed, and that the Commission is not resorting to more short-term tweaks that would accommodate fossil fuel interests and challenge predictability for decarbonisation investments. We welcome the direction of travel on the Investment Booster, particularly its potential to strengthen solidarity within the ETS as part of a much-needed place-based industrial strategy. However, this must go hand in hand with safeguarding and increasing auction revenues, which means a continued commitment to phase out free allocations. At the same time, we are still awaiting the final TICEF state aid package, which has yet to be published and will require careful scrutiny once available.

– Greg Van Elsen, Senior Industrial Policy Coordinator at CAN Europe