Macron urges 'pause' in EU environment regulations
by AFP Staff Writers
Paris (AFP) May 11, 2023

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday urged the EU to pause imposing environmental regulations, saying Europe had already done far more than other industrial powers.

Macron made the comments as he unveiled his cherished plan for the "reindustrialisation" of France including tax credits and other measures aimed at favouring green industry but also vehicles and batteries made in Europe.

He called for "a European regulatory pause" in terms of environmental constraints, arguing that the EU had done "more than all the neighbours" and that it now "needed stability".

"We are ahead, in regulatory terms, of the Americans, the Chinese and of any other power in the world," said Macron.

"We must not make new changes to the rules," he added, stressing that this would pose "risks" for the "financing" of projects.

Macron has repeatedly expressed alarm over what Paris sees as the protectionist policies of President Joe Biden's US administration to support industry and the energy transition.

He has urged Europe to defend itself against this competition, as well as against the rising power of China.

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