BRUSSELS — The European Commission will give governments more spending leeway to subsidize electric vehicles and build cycling lanes and train stations, according to a policy briefing note seen by POLITICO.
The EU executive circulated the document to deputy finance ministers, outlining which green investments it will exempt from its rules for public spending. The extra flexibility, announced in June, is designed to give indebted countries, such as Italy and Spain, more fiscal breathing space to cushion higher fuel costs from the war in the Middle East.
The waiver is limited to green investments worth 0.6 percent of economic output over three years until 2028, but governments cannot spend more than 0.3 percent of GDP over a single year.
The Commission’s note stressed that the added flexibility is limited to measures introduced after the conflict in Iran began on Feb. 28 that “accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.”
