The nominees for the next European Commission will go through their hearings and hope to be appointed by the end of the year. Whatever its final makeup, this next Commission will be responsible for getting us to our 2030 climate and energy targets.
Here is what we can expect from Ursula von der Leyen’s second term when it comes to the transition and hydrogen’s role in it.
Before discussing policy, it is worth mentioning the political. Clean hydrogen will influence numerous sectors in European society and, therefore, will be addressed across many portfolios within the Commission. It is not, therefore, solely the remit of Directorate-General (DG) Energy, but also DG Grow, DG Clima, DG Move and, but also, DG Trade and DG International Partnership. With all these overlapping portfolios, there is a serious need for better policy coordination to avoid potential dissonance that the previous mandate experienced and to ensure that the ambitious hydrogen agenda is delivered.
The setting up of a permanent platform for policy coordination between these DGs is in fact one of the recommendations we, as Hydrogen Europe, brought directly to President von der Leyen in a letter dated July 3, 2024. As doing so will facilitate more harmonised policymaking, not just for hydrogen but for the entire energy transition, we expect that the new Commission will take this on board.
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