Welcome to the Brussels Edition. I’m John Ainger, Bloomberg climate and energy reporter, bringing you the latest from the EU. Make sure you’re signed up.

The European Commission will unveil today its global vision for climate and energy. But it’s at home that the bloc’s searching for direction.

Less than a month before COP30, the yearly gathering where 190 countries negotiate ways to tackle climate change, Europe still hasn’t decided on the level of ambition it will pitch. Months of delay have meant the bloc is racing to submit a climate pledge to the United Nations in time.

Part of the problem is arguably of the commission’s own making. It only put forward an ambitious target of cutting CO2 emissions by 90% by 2040 on the table in July, waiting for key elections in Poland and Germany to pass. While EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra remains optimistic about the adoption of the goal, there’s little time left for a debate on the elements countries need to put in place to meet the target.

It’s also clear that politics have shifted since the commission pledged five years ago to be the first climate neutral continent by 2050. The focus in Europe has moved to keeping the economy competitive and safeguarding key industries amid high energy prices and the global threat from the US and China.

Wopke Hoekstra Photographer: Simon Wohlfahrt/Bloomberg

That has set the stage for what could be a spicy debate between EU leaders when they meet in Brussels next week. Although the aim is to avoid a debate on the overall 90% goal, each country is expected to bring its own laundry list of exceptions and paths.

Germany, for example, will push for more flexibility for its automotive sector. France, in the midst of a political turmoil, will bang the drum for its nuclear sector and more protections for Europe’s steel industry. Italy is eyeing a greater role for biofuels. Central and Eastern European countries are keen to make sure that their rich peers in the west do their fair share of the heavy lifting. All will be concerned about the cost for citizens at the petrol pump and to heat their homes.

EU climate negotiators heading a couple of weeks later to the Brazilian Amazon city of Belem for COP30 will just hope they’ll have something to show the rest of the world. 

The Latest

• EU countries will begin debating next week on how much preferential treatment to give domestic firms bidding for public contracts worth about €2.5 trillion a year.
• French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes after announcing plans to suspend a contentious pension law to win support in the National Assembly.
• Greece, home to the world’s second-largest merchant fleet, is walking back from supporting a global maritime carbon tax that has drawn backlash from Washington.
• Chinese measures to curb the export of rare earths could reignite price pressures in the euro zone if they ripple through the global economy, ECB Governing Council member Madis Muller told us in an interview.
• Stablecoins can ironically become a danger to financial stability if not guaranteed and managed properly, European Stability Mechanism Managing Director Pierre Gramegna told us in an interview in Washington.
• Nestle’s new CEO Philipp Navratil announced plans to slash 16,000 jobs only weeks after taking over, aiming to build on a stronger-than-expected increase in quarterly sales that lifted the Swiss foodmaker’s shares by the most in 17 years.
• Former Airbus CEO Tom Enders is close to being named chairman of KNDS, Bloomberg reporters Aaron Kirchfeld and Eyk Henning write, as the Franco-German tankmaker prepares for a possible IPO amid a surge in defense spending. 

Seen and Heard on Bloomberg

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD is doing very well in Europe and looking forward to its facility in Hungary beginning to operate by year end, Executive Vice President Stella Li said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. ‘’If we produce in Europe, we hire 10,000, 20,000 local jobs, then we become a European manufacturer, we are part of this party.’’

The Number

Coming up

• EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis takes part in G7 Finance and Central Bank Governors’ meeting, meets US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington later today
• EU Financial Services Commissioner Maria Luis Albuquerque meets SEC Chair Paul Takins, attends World Bank Development Committee in Washington today
• EU Employment and Social Policy Ministers meet in Luxembourg tomorrow

Final Thought

Giorgia Meloni. Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg

Giorgia Meloni’s focus on her reputation with investors and on lowering the country’s borrowing costs on its mountain of debt have shaped the Italian premier’s social media messaging strategy, Tommaso Longobardi, who leads her digital communications, said on Bloomberg’s Italian-language podcast, Quello Che i Soldi Non Dicono. He argues that a careful management of Italy’s finances and the moderate way in which Meloni expresses her views on financial matters have helped lower Italy’s interest-rate spread, a crucial indicator of investors’ trust in the country’s financial stability.

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