'There's a sea change in the UK-EU relationship': EU Commission Vice-President Sefcovic

He has variously been called "Mister Fix-It", "Laser Eye" and "Big Maros". EU Commission Executive Vice-President Maros Sefcovic manages a dizzying array of portfolios, stretching to no fewer than 26 policy areas, many of them having to do with Europe's green transition. He is also a veteran of Brexit negotiations and helped to secure an agreement at the end of 2020 after years of tortuous talks. Speaking to FRANCE 24, Sefcovic notes a big change in the "mood and quality" of the EU-UK relationship, and says the two sides are "exploring the full potential for closer cooperation in different areas".

"We have been working very hard with our UK partners to make sure that the UK will become again part of the biggest research and innovation programme in the world, Horizon Europe. And they are now part of it," Sefcovic says. With his new interlocuter David Cameron, the UK foreign secretary, Sefcovic has agreed that "we try to solve our mutual issues before they hit the headlines. And it works".

Sefcovic mentions the investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric cars, and says that the EU "will have to act" if it is established that subsidies to the Chinese car industry are happening "at the expense" of European manufacturers. "We cannot afford a second solar panel story," Sefcovic elaborates. "Panels from China completely wiped out our solar industry in Europe. We cannot repeat the same in such an important segment of our economy, the car industry. We want to make sure that the best, safest, the most sustainable cars in the world will continue to be manufactured and made in Europe. And we want a level playing field, not only in Europe but also on the global scale."

Reports suggest that the EU is not on course to meet its own targets for reducing CO2 emissions by 2030. What would a 4 percent undershoot in emissions performance actually mean? "It would mean that we didn't do our job properly," Sefcovic answers. "And therefore what is happening right now is that we are in a very intensive interaction with our member states, because all of them have been asked to develop so-called national energy and climate plans. But we would like to discuss with them how each one of our member states is going to contribute to this collective goal of 55 percent. So we still have time until June. I believe that we will get there."

How challenging is it that some member states did not submit their national plans in time? "It’s a problem," Sefcovic concedes. "But you might have different reasons for that. Some just had elections. You have a new government or the new government is being formed. So I don't think that it's some kind of deliberate omission."

On the importance of this year's European elections, Sefcovic says: "I think that with every election we see the importance is growing. Let's be honest, we went through a very difficult five years. We had the Covid-19 crisis. We have wars which are so close to European borders like never since the Second World War. And of course every household is coping with high prices of energy and we are still battling inflation. If you want to overcome these crises, you have to work more closely together as Europeans. Nobody is going to give us any presents in this very tough geopolitical world. Europe has to stand on its own feet. We have pushed for strategic autonomy and we need the support of our citizens for this very important step. And therefore, I would like also to thank you and FRANCE 24 for making the point of increasing the participation in the European elections."

Produced by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats and Sophie Samaille