The European Union's goals for nature protection, a fair energy transition and reducing carbon emissions remain unchanged, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a meeting with representatives of European industry in Antwerp, BTA reports.
She stressed that the EU will be neutral and flexible towards the technologies used to achieve these goals. In this regard, Von der Leyen announced that the EU will allocate 100 billion euros to develop clean industries and support the most innovative companies.
New rules on state aid and affordable energy
Von der Leyen said that the European Commission will propose changes to state aid rules to accelerate the introduction of innovation. She also presented a plan to achieve more affordable energy prices.
The EC President stressed the importance of the circular economy and the need for more extensive waste processing. She gave the example of used batteries that the EU sends to China, but which could provide enough lithium to produce two million batteries for electric cars annually.
Reducing dependence on fossil fuels
Von der Leyen pointed out that efforts to transition to cleaner production so far have led to savings of 60 billion euros for the EU. She stressed the need to further improve the European energy market by building more interconnections.
Earlier in the day, the European Commission presented a number of proposals aimed at reducing energy costs, promoting clean production and the production of renewable energy. Among them is simplifying the legislation regulating the activities of European companies.