What’s next in Europe? – Timeline of European climate and energy policy

Spain holds EU Council presidency

The Council represents the governments of member states, and the presidency rotates among EU member states every six months. It is not only responsible for setting policy priorities and planning and chairing meetings among ministers, but must also try and reach agreement on laws with the EU’s other legislative bodies – the Commission and the Parliament. Member states holding the presidency work together closely in groups of three, called 'trios'. Belgium and Hungary follow on Spain.

Spain is headed for snap elections during the first month of its EU Council presidency (23 July), but current prime minister Pedro Sanchez has downplayed the prospect that the elections would disrupt the Council presidency and emphasized that EU reindustrialization would be his central ambition, reported Politico. The outlet also wrote up key legislation the presidency will have to deal with from July until December, including the critical raw materials act or vehicle pollutant standards.

The Spanish government presented the four priorities of its presidency: Reindustrialise the EU and ensure its open strategic autonomy, advance in the green transition and the environmental adaptation, promoting greater social and economic justice, and strengthening European unity. "We will promote a reform of the electricity market aimed at accelerating the deployment of renewable energies, the reduction of electricity prices, and the improvement of the system’s stability," writes the government. "We will work to accelerate the legislative files related to Fit for 55, such as the Gas and Hydrogen package, and the energy efficiency regulations."

State of the Union speech by European Commission president von der Leyen

In September each year, the president of the European Commission delivers the state of the union address to the Parliament. The address takes stock of the achievements of the past year and presents the priorities for the year ahead. The president also sets out how the Commission will address the most pressing challenges the European Union faces and ideas for shaping the future of the EU. This will be Commission president Ursula von der Leyen's fourth state of the union speech.

The Commission will launch in autumn 2023 a first auction–or competitive bid-for supporting the production of renewable hydrogen. Winners of this auction will receive a fixed premium for each kg of renewable hydrogen produced over a period of 10 years. Terms and conditions for this first pilot auction, with an indicative budget of EUR 800 million, was supposed to be announced in June 2023. However, EurActiv reported that it will only be announced by the end of summer. The auction would then be launched later in the year.

In its work programme 2023, the Commission says it will present a legislative proposal or a more general policy proposal on greening corporate fleets.

In its work programme 2023, the Commission says: "We will set up a comprehensive framework for sustainable food systems in the EU, to make sustainability central to all food-related policies." It will present a legislative proposal together with an impact assessment.

Informal meeting of transport ministers

The Spanish Council presidency invites EU transport ministers to Barcelona.

The EU climate law prescribes that the Commission must present a progress report every five years by 30 September (starting in 2023) to ensure "that the Union and the Member States remain on track to achieve the climate-neutrality objective and progress on adaptation."

Teresa Ribera, Vice-President of the Government of Spain, and Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), announced that they will host an international climate and energy summit in Madrid focussed on the urgency of accelerating the global clean energy transition. The event will take place during the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It will bring together energy and climate ministers, and industry, finance and civil society leaders from around the world just weeks before COP28 – with the purpose of building a grand coalition to accelerate momentum towards reaching the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C.

Informal meeting of EU leaders

The Spanish Council presidency invites EU heads of state and government to Granada. Prime minister Sanchez has said that the Spanish presidency will propose a strategic vision of how to continue moving towards the goal to reindustrialise and diversify EU relations until 2030 to the Council and the Union as a whole, with the intention of discussing it at the Informal Meeting of Heads of State and Government in October in Granada.

This is one of several regular annual meetings of EU environment ministers.

This is one of four regular meetings of EU heads of state and government as the European Council.

This is one of several regular annual meetings of EU transport ministers.

This is one of four regular meetings of EU heads of state and government as the European Council.

This is one of several regular annual meetings of EU environment ministers.

This is one of several regular annual meetings of EU energy ministers.

It didn't make it into the 2023 work programme, but energy Commissioner Kadri Simson has said the Commission aims to present "a Communication on a strategic vision" for carbon capture and use/storage (CCUS) in 2023. In the run-up, the Commissioner expects to publish a study to analyse an outline of the CO2 transport and storage infrastructure in 2030 and 2040 (early 2023) and an analysis of the regulatory environment (also early 2023).