European Green Deal architect Diederik Samsom to resign from European Commission job
Diederik Samsom, the former leader of Dutch Labour party PvdA, will step down from his role at the European Commission. Samsom is the current Head of Cabinet to European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, a role he also held for Hoekstra's predecessor, Frans Timmermans. His departure was confirmed by Hoekstra's office to both NOS and ANP.
Hoekstra is set to announce climate targets for 2040 early next month. Samsom took the lead in crafting the European Green Deal, a plan to make Europe climate neutral by 2050, which Timmermans presented along with European Commission Chair Ursula von der Leyen. The ambitious plan called for a reduction of carbon emissions of more than half by 2030, stimulating the cultivation and planting of two billion trees, and sustainability improvements to millions of homes.
It also called for the installation of hundreds of thousands of electric car charging points, and encouraging governments to tax more drivers based on the amount of kilometers they drive annually. Farm-to-table sustainable agriculture will also be stimulated, levying a carbon tax on foreign companies that cause pollution, making it harder for airlines to be exempted from carbon emissions allowances, and getting the European Investment Bank to put up a trillion euros in green investments.
Since then, the political landscape has changed significantly. Timmermans left the Commission to lead the GroenLinks-PvdA faction ahead of the elections last November. The party is the second largest in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, with 25 seats. Though they won eight more seats than the previous election, they were trounced by far-right nationalist party PVV, which more than doubled their previous position to 37 seats.
Wopke Hoekstra replaced Timmermans. Hoekstra served Prime Minister Mark Rutte as a finance minister, and later as a foreign affairs minister. The former CDA leader was considered a somewhat controversial choice, as he was viewed as far more conservative than Timmermans to handle European climate policy.
Additionally, the upcoming European Parliament elections will almost certainly be shaped by the rise of far-right nationalists and populists in the Netherlands, as well as Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic France, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Slovakia, according to a report from the European Council on Foreign Relations. The think-tank believes this will drag the composition of the Parliament further right, giving the Identity and Democracy group a 40-seat boost from their current total of 58 MEPs. The European Conservatives and Reformists were also projected to gain 14 more MEPs to bring their total up to 85.
The election will lead to a new European Commission, which may or may not include Hoekstra. NOS reported speculation that he wants to remain in his position, but said Hoekstra has not confirmed the rumors.
