The European Commission is on track to reach its target to set 2030 targets for every single policy area, a spokesperson said today.
The new European Targets Law, voted last year, set out an ambitious aim for Brussels to set 55% of its 2030 targets by 2022, but the EU is already far ahead of that goal.
“That means there are just 8 more years until we can sit back, enjoy the fact we’ve set those targets and let policymaking take care of itself,” said EU chief spokesperson Eric Tamère.
He continued: “This is about much more than setting targets. We have the full budget of the EU and thousands of EU officials working day and night across Brussels to rigorously monitor and implement the setting of those targets. That means concretely that every time a new policy is discussed, we say: ‘Is there a target for that?’ And if there isn’t we set one."
"It's not like we're going to be around when we miss it.”
An EU source disagreed that target-setting alone was enough: “We are missing the bigger picture: We may be reaching our target-setting target but what about the target for setting target-setting targets?”
The European Targets Targets Law Law, also voted last year, set out an ambitious aim for Brussels to set 55% of its target-setting targets target by 2050. “We are far off that goal.”
Meanwhile, MEPs passed a resolution calling on the Commission to employ a more “targeted approach.”
Eva Berning, director general of the Sustainable and Tasty Coal lobby group, said: “This business about target-setting is ridiculous. The sensible approach would be to refrain from setting targets until we have achieved what those targets set out.”
But Roberta Schuwoman, head of the Greta lobby, said: “We should have set our 2050 targets in 1850, it’s too late now.”
EU spokesperson Tamère said there was an undue tendency to blame the EU when target-setting falls short of targets. “Sometimes it's like we have a target on our back” he said. “And if we do, can someone check whether we’re on track to miss it?”
Asked why the EU was not considering setting a target beyond 2050, he said: “We can only set targets for time periods when we can reasonably claim that the EU will still exist.”
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