The reason is the failure to send his draft for a National Energy and Climate Plan (NEKP) to Brussels on time, according to a list of procedures from the EU Commission. The draft submitted by Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) in October was withdrawn by Europe Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP).
“Now our country is actually threatened with a severe penalty,” says a statement from the Climate Protection Ministry. But this can still be prevented. “If the European Ministry withdraws its unilateral objection, the proceedings can be stopped once more.” However, it will still be some time before a penalty can actually be imposed. The process has several stages that take months.
What happens next?
As a first step, Austria must now respond to the Commission’s allegations. After the deadline, the Commission will issue a reasoned opinion setting a second deadline. An infringement procedure is opened when a Member State fails to comply with EU law. In the final instance, the Commission can refer the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
European Minister Edtstadler had withdrawn the plan on the grounds that it did not correspond to the Austrian government position. She said last week in Brussels that she assumed that there would soon be discussions on the content, “so that there is a national plan agreed with everyone that we can send to Brussels.”
Climate Ministry contradicts
The Climate Ministry contradicted this representation. The draft of the NEKP was “developed with the involvement of the ministries concerned” and was later “unilaterally withdrawn by the European Ministry,” said a statement from Gewessler’s department. “But the central question remains: How do we make further progress in climate protection in order to close the existing gap to the EU target.”
The commission published its assessments of 21 national energy and climate plans on Monday. All Member States must submit their final, updated plans by June 30, 2024, taking into account the Commission’s recommendations and individual assessments. The NEKPs outline how member states want to achieve their energy and climate goals for 2030.
Greenpeace sees “catastrophic debacle”
“ÖVP Minister Edtstadler and Chancellor Nehammer are provoking a catastrophic debacle surrounding the climate roadmap for Austria. The federal ÖVP has not missed an opportunity to sabotage climate and environmental protection in Austria for years, and is now risking fines running into billions. This is fueling Edtstadler and Nehammer is wantonly addressing the climate crisis, which is already threatening the livelihoods of farmers due to extreme weather, driving people out of their homes and threatening our health. The only right thing to do is to listen to science now and anchor the necessary measures in the NEKP and in a timely manner to submit,” commented Greenpeace spokeswoman Lisa Panhuber.
