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HOEKSTRA IN THE HOT SEAT
MEPS GRILL HOEKSTRA FOR EU CLIMATE CHIEF: Former
Dutch Minister Wopke Hoekstra needs to convince the European Parliament today
that he’s the right man for the job of climate action commissioner.
Pass the popcorn: Today’s hearing will be far
from a rubber-stamping exercise. The center-right politician is already under
fire for his lack of expertise in climate policymaking, his past work for oil
giant Shell and his opposition to ending drilling at the Netherlands’ Groningen
gas field.
You scratch my back: The Socialists &
Democrats may grind their teeth at Hoekstra’s nomination, but they’re expected
to back him as they want their own man — Maroš Šefčovič — to be confirmed as
the Commission’s vice president for the Green Deal at his own hearing on
Tuesday. In other words, the EPP and the S&D have got each other by their
crown jewels, as if one shoots down the other’s candidate, the other will fall
too.
Hoekstra will promise to deliver on ‘substance’:
An EU official told Playbook that Hoekstra would focus on showing his
commitment to continuing the EU’s climate agenda, arguing that while he may not
have climate credentials, he did lead “the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, which are the two top ministries in the Netherlands.” The same
official added: “At the end of the day, what matters in these hearings is the
substance.”
Work cut out: The official pointed to a letter by
the Greens detailing five commitments they want Hoekstra and Šefčovič to make
at their hearings, including ambitious and “science-based” emission reduction
targets by 2040; imposing a deadline by which EU countries should phase out
fossil fuel subsidies; and finishing the Nature Restoration Law by the end of
the mandate — legislation that is particularly controversial in the
Netherlands.
Ticking the boxes: The official said the demands
of the Greens — whose support will be needed to pass legislation — was like
“public benchmarking” as it sets the expectations of which boxes Hoekstra will
need to tick in his speech and Q&A with MEPs. “You can expect him today to
commit to present his plan for the EU’s 2040 emission reduction targets in the
first quarter of 2024,” the official added.
Time’s ticking: Hoekstra wants to be confirmed
this week. EU climate ministers will meet on October 16 to prepare his mandate
for the U.N. climate talks, for which Hoekstra wants to be in the saddle. You
can follow the committee hearing with POLITICO’s live blog.
Job moves: Anthony Agotha, who worked on climate
diplomacy, will join the EU’s foreign affairs department as special envoy for
climate and environment diplomacy, following in the footsteps of Marc
Vanheukelen. Agotha won’t be replaced in Hoekstra’s Cabinet, as it will be
downsized in comparison to his predecessor Frans Timmermans’.
Staying: Timmermans’ Cabinet chief Diederik
Samsom will stay on as Hoekstra’s head of Cabinet. Dutch diplomat Jori Keijsper
will also retain her role as communications adviser in the Cabinet of the
climate commissioner.
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