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4 EWROPEJ maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 13 SEPTEMBER 2023 4 Jobsplus permit number 688/2023 Vacancy Notice Legal Aid Malta Agency invites prospective candidates for the post of Office Support Officer. Requirements: • School Leaving Certificate - MQF/VET 1 • Experience in office support and messengerial duties will be advantaged. Copy of the job description and related information in respect of this vacancy may be obtained online: https://legalaidmalta.gov.mt/karrieri A Europass curriculum vitae and certificates for the above mentioned vacancy will be received latest by noon of 22nd September 2023 on: hr.legalaidmalta@gov.mt. Late applications will not be considered. MATTHEW VELLA MEPS have voted to boost the deployment of renewable energy across the EU bloc, in line with the Green Deal and REPowerEU plans. The update of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), which was already agreed upon be- tween MEPs and Council, now raises the share of renewables in the EU's final energy consump- tion to 42.5% by 2030, while member states should strive to achieve 45%. The rules speed up the permits for new renewable energy pow- er plants, such as solar panels or wind turbines, or to adapt exist- ing ones. Under the Directive, national authorities should take no longer than 12 months to approve new renewable energy installations, if located in so-called "renewables go-to areas". Outside such areas, the process should not exceed 24 months. Lead MEP Markus Pieper (EPP, DE), said the law effec- tively has designated renewables as an overriding public interest, streamlining their approval pro- cess. "In our pursuit of greater energy independence and CO2 reduction, we have raised our renewable energy targets. This directive is evidence that Brus- sels can be unbureaucratic and pragmatic." The law will allow more member states to ensure fast- er permitting for wind power, photovoltaics, hydropower, ge- othermal energy, and tidal cur- rents. Biomass from wood will remain classified as renewable energy. Under the principle of 'Positive silence', investments will be deemed approved in the absence of administrative feed- back. "We now urgently need an EU electricity market design and an immediate shift to hydrogen for a greener transition," Pieper said. The legislation was adopted with 470 votes to 120, with 40 abstentions. It will now have to be formally endorsed by Council in order to come into law. The legislative revision stems from the 'Fit for 55' package, adapting existing climate and en- ergy laws to meet the new EU ob- jective of a minimum 55% reduc- tion in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. The proposed targets were fur- ther raised under the REpow- erEU package, which aims to cut European dependence on fossil fuel imports from Russia, fol- lowing its aggression in Ukraine. In the transport sector, renew- ables deployment should lead to a 14.5% reduction by 2030 in greenhouse gas emissions, by us- ing a greater share of advanced biofuels and a more ambitious quota for renewable fuels of non-biological origin, such as hydrogen. MEPs also voted for member states states to set an indicative target for innovative renewable energy technology of at least 5% of newly installed renewable en- ergy capacity, as well as a binding framework for cross-border en- ergy projects. Various proposals in the Con- ference on the Future of Europe, which was convened for the EU's citizens to enter a dialogue on the direction of the Europe- an Union, call for the accelera- tion of the EU's green transition through increased investments in renewable energy and for the reduction of dependence on oil and gas imports. Greens versus Metsola In other political developments related to ongoing climate rules in the European Parliament, Green MEPs criticised Europe- an Parliament President Roberta Metsola after she was reported as saying that climate policies could be pushing voters toward popu- list parties in the lead-up to next year's European election. Metsola was reported in the Fi- nancial Times saying that a "pro- portionality test" and a proper cost assessment were needed for new regulations. "Euroscepticism grew because the parties of the centre took their voters for granted," the Maltese politician added, refer- ring to her own European Peo- ple's party and the centre-left Socialists and Democrats. "If the EPP and S&D have lost ground, we have to ask ourselves why. Why have we stopped talking to our businesses? Have we not placed being climate ambitious as not being mutually exclusive with economic growth?" While the EPP recently called for a moratorium on regulation and opposed a plan to improve biodiversity by rewilding some farmland, Metsola said her com- ments reflected the view of mem- bers as a whole. "We don't do a proportionality test. We don't ask once it is implemented, how much will it really cost?" she said. "This will be my fifth European election. And it's a question we get asked every time: 'You talk of big regulatory projects, but you don't cost them.'" Politico later reported that Ter- ry Reintke, a German MEP who co-chairs the Greens' group, had called on Metsola to clarify her comments, adding that saying that climate regulation was driv- ing populism "is not the position of the European Parliament." Another German MEP, Mi- chael Bloss, said Metsola should apologise. "I expect Metsola to comment on this again... This statement cannot be left unchal- lenged. Climate protection is hu- man protection, and right-wing populism is inhumane. These are two very different things that must not be mistaken," he told Politico. But Metsola's spokesperson Jüri Laas denied any policy shift on climate change. "We have always been saying that we need a climate agenda which is strong and very ambi- tious, but that we need to keep the people on board, otherwise it will not work... The president is very green." Metsola's spokesperson said the EP president was saying that the Green Deal should be done right in a bid not to be weaponised by populists, while the EPP group's spokesperson opined that Met- sola was only interpreting cur- rent polls. Indeed, eroding living stand- ards from high inflation, con- cerns over immigration and the cost of climate change policies, could be seen as fuelling a right- ward tilt among voters, with polls pointing to big gains for hard- right parties such as Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy (FdL) as well as losses for the Greens, Liberals and other centrists. However, the four big pro-Eu- ropean groupings are likely to retain a majority. MEPs fast-track renewables permits This article is part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. This article reflects only the authors' view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. Under the Directive, national authorities should take no longer than 12 months to approve new renewable energy installations, if located in so-called "renewables go-to areas"