First visit by Habeck to Brussels as Minister

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Dr Robert Habeck will be making his first visit to Brussels today after assuming office.

He will be holding talks with high-ranking representatives of the European Commission: President Ursula von der Leyen, Executive Vice-Presidents Margrethe Vestager, Valdis Dombrovskis and Frans Timmermans, Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson and Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton.

The focus of the talks will be on the exchange of views on key political dossiers and the right design of the economic policy environment in order to make the European Commission’s green and digital transformations a success.

Federal Minister Habeck said: "Together with the European Commission and France, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, we intend to make the EU not only the first climate-neutral continent, but also the global lead market for sustainable and innovative products and services. To this end, we need green cutting-edge technologies 'Made in the EU', including in the field of hydrogen. We therefore want to deepen our cooperation in this respect. The coronavirus crisis has shown us that we need to jointly strengthen the EU’s resilience by promoting open markets, reducing strategic dependencies and supporting strong, rules-based trade on the basis of clear social and sustainability standards also at international level."