Only Further European Integration Can Save the Green Deal

The European Green Deal will yield little without a cohesive industrial policy, greater innovation and enhanced competitiveness. The solution lies in deeper economic integration – a goal that, given current political trends, appears increasingly unlikely.

Few people today remember the enthusiasm that accompanied the announcement of the European Green Deal in 2019. It came just before Europe was hit by a series of crises – first the COVID-19 pandemic, then Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and finally the energy crisis and inflation. Although these challenges have dominated European decision-making in recent years, climate policy and its adoption as a law binding on Member States remain, in Brussels’ view, the greatest achievement of Ursula von der Leyen’s first term.

Five years later, discussions on the Green Deal at the European Forum in Alpbach – attended by leading representatives of the European establishment, think tanks and scientists in August 2024 – were marked by growing impatience. Following a legislative push, Europe must now move to implementation, which is progressing slowly and facing mounting obstacles, including economic stagnation and heightened geopolitical tensions involving Russia and China.