European Commission DG Environment, Brussels Organised by Green Budget Europe and hosted by the European Commission, this side-event to the Greening the European Semester expert group brought together 33 representatives of 11 EU-Member States, NGOs and the European Commission to exchange knowledge about the potential of environmental fiscal reform in very open, in-depth and fruitful discussions. The event started off with an introduction by Paul Ekins, director of the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources and President of the scientific advisory committee of GBE. He presented…

Green Budget Europe’s board members and experts met in Brussels with representatives from the European Commission and civil society organisations to discuss the current state of Environmental Fiscal Reform within the European Semester. Below are some background information, along with the objectives of the meeting and target audience. Download the event’s agenda. The European Semester On 28 November 2014, the new European Commission kicked off the 5th round of the European Semester process, presenting the Annual Growth Survey (AGS). The objective of the…

As a member of the EU Semester Alliance, GBE hosted a stakeholder dialogue meeting with key representatives from the European Commission and the Council of Ministers engaged in the Semester process. This first roundtable exchange discussed the latest developments and changes in the 2016 European Semester, in the light of the 5 Presidents Report, including a first reaction to the new Annual Growth Survey based on the Alliance’s joint letter to President Juncker,  set within the broader context of how to…

Green Budget Europe organised a morning briefing on the future of diesel cars at the European Parliament in Brussels, on February 17, 2016. Diesel accounts for 53% of new car sales in Europe, compared to 1-5% in Japan and the US. We know diesel cars have a negative impact on local air quality and that leading cities plan to restrict their use. But what of their climate impacts? And has their true impact on health really been communicated? Can Europe…

As a member of the EU Alliance for a Democratic, Social and Sustainable European Semester (EU Semester Alliance), Green Budget Europe co-organised a hearing to discuss proposals for the European Semester in 2016. The event took place in the European Parliament, Room ASP 5G1, on 1 March 2016 from 9h30 to 12h30, and was hosted by Sergio Gutiérrez Prieto MEP (S&D) and Marian Harkin MEP (ALDE). The event came at a timely moment to kick-start discussion around the launch of 2016 European Semester,…

As emphasised by Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the Energy Union, 2016 will be the year of delivery for the Energy Union. For this reason, Green Budget Europe is focusing on building and putting forward robust proposals for an effective and efficient governance strategy. In order to facilitate and promote the discussion around governance and the Energy Union, Green Budget Europe hosted a capacity-building workshop bringing together more than 30 representatives of the European Commission (DG Energy and European Semester), GBE national…

On June 30th, Green Budget Europe, in collaboration with University College London’s (UCL) Institute for Sustainable Resources, organised a roundtable event in London to present its new report: “Tackling air pollution from diesel cars through tax: options for the UK“. The event was hosted by Prospect Magazine, and involved a wide range of stakeholders from campaigners and members of civil society to academics and policy makers. Discussions revolved around the main findings outlined in the study, including the potential effectiveness…