The European Commission wants member states to assess climate risks, establish national resilience plans and incorporate future warming into public investment decisions. Yet the proposed legislation does not provide the funding needed to implement its ambitions.

The European Commission has proposed a new climate resilience law that would require EU governments to assess their exposure to extreme weather, identify authorities responsible for managing risks and develop national plans to protect infrastructure and economic activity.

Presented on 27 October, the initiative marks a shift in European climate policy towards managing the consequences of changing weather conditions alongside efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

However, the Commission estimates that adapting Europe’s infrastructure and economy to future climatic conditions will require approximately €70 billion annually.

The proposed legislation does not establish a dedicated funding programme of that size.

This creates an immediate question for member states already facing difficult decisions over defence expenditure, energy security and public borrowing.

Brussels wants governments to make climate preparedness a routine part of economic planning, but the financial responsibility for delivering those measures remains largely unresolved.

National governments face new obligations

Under the Commission’s proposed Climate Resilience Law, EU governments would be required to conduct more systematic assessments of climate risks.

The proposal envisages national assessments by 30 June 2029 and strategic resilience plans by 31 December 2030.

These documents would identify threats affecting infrastructure, public services, economic activity and communities.

Governments would also be expected to specify which public authorities are responsible for managing particular risks.

The intention is to prevent situations in which responsibility is divided between institutions without a clear mechanism for action.

The proposed framework would establish a common basis for assessments across the EU, allowing national authorities to compare risks and coordinate responses.

This could be particularly relevant where droughts, floods or disruptions to energy networks affect more than one member state.

The deadlines remain proposals rather than existing legal obligations. The legislation must still be negotiated and adopted by the European Parliament and the Council.

A common warming scenario

One of the most significant elements of the proposal is the introduction of a shared reference trajectory for global warming.

According to the Commission’s announcement, the framework uses a trajectory involving global average warming of approximately 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2030, 2°C by 2050 and 3°C by 2100.

These figures would provide a common planning assumption for evaluating long-term risks.

They are not legally determined temperature outcomes or a guarantee that warming will follow precisely that path.

Instead, they are intended to help authorities examine how buildings, roads, energy facilities and other infrastructure might perform under changing climatic conditions.

For example, a transport project designed to operate for several decades would need to consider possible exposure to extreme heat, flooding or changes in rainfall patterns.

Such assessments could influence engineering requirements, maintenance costs and investment decisions.

The financial problem

The Commission estimates that approximately €70 billion a year will be needed to strengthen Europe’s climate resilience.

That expenditure could include flood protection, water management, urban cooling, agricultural adaptation and improvements to vulnerable infrastructure.

The Commission argues that preventive investment can reduce the economic losses associated with disasters.

According to its figures, climate-related damage across the EU amounted to approximately €200 billion between 2022 and 2025, averaging €50 billion annually.

However, estimating the economic benefits of prevention does not resolve how projects should be financed.

National governments face competing demands on their budgets, while local authorities often bear responsibility for infrastructure without possessing sufficient resources for major investment programmes.

Private financing may contribute in commercially viable areas, but some adaptation projects generate public benefits rather than direct financial returns.

Flood barriers, emergency drainage systems and measures protecting vulnerable communities may therefore require substantial public expenditure.

The proposed legislation establishes a framework for identifying such investments but does not guarantee the resources necessary to undertake them.

Businesses and insurers face changing risks

The Commission also wants climate resilience to become part of business and financial decision-making.

Companies operating transport networks, energy facilities and industrial sites may face increasing exposure to disruption from extreme weather.

Insurers must assess the potential for more frequent or costly claims.

Banks and investors may need to consider whether assets remain commercially viable under changing environmental conditions.

These issues have implications for credit conditions, property values and long-term investment.

However, incorporating climate risks into financial decisions can create difficulties for regions where exposure is high and adaptation costs are substantial.

Insurance premiums may rise, while some properties or economic activities could become increasingly difficult to insure.

The Commission has indicated that further proposals concerning climate insurance and disaster preparedness are being developed.

Their eventual design will influence how financial risks are distributed between households, businesses, insurers and governments.

New European climate information tools

The framework also introduces instruments intended to improve access to scientific information.

The European Climate Viewer will provide mapped information on projected climate hazards.

The Navigator of Climate Resilience Tools will help authorities and businesses identify relevant assessment instruments.

A separate Solutions Explorer will provide examples of adaptation measures developed through European research programmes.

These tools could make climate information more accessible, particularly for smaller administrations without extensive technical resources.

Nevertheless, access to information does not automatically produce the financing or institutional capacity required to implement projects.

A municipality may be able to identify a flood risk more precisely while remaining unable to finance the necessary protective infrastructure.

A new responsibility for Brussels and national capitals

The Commission is expected to present an additional EU strategic plan on climate resilience in 2028.

Separate initiatives are also being prepared on heatwaves, insurance and disaster preparedness.

The resulting framework could substantially influence how public infrastructure and investment projects are planned across Europe.

However, national governments will have to determine how the proposed requirements interact with existing spending obligations and economic priorities.

The European Parliament and Council must also decide whether the legislation should include stronger financial provisions.

The central issue is not whether governments should assess the risks facing infrastructure and public services, but how the measures identified by those assessments will be funded.

Until that question is addressed, the proposed law will establish a more comprehensive system for recognising climate-related risks without guaranteeing that member states possess the resources to reduce them.

The European Commission is assessing changes to Google’s search engine and app-store practices after imposing two substantial fines in July. Regulators must now decide whether the company’s response satisfies EU competition requirements or leaves it exposed to further enforcement.

The European Commission is continuing discussions with Google over the company’s response to €890 million in penalties imposed under the Digital Markets Act, as Brussels examines whether changes to its search engine and app-store practices are sufficient to address infringements of European competition rules.

Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier confirmed on Wednesday, 14 October, that officials remained in dialogue with the American technology company. The Commission is assessing the measures Google has introduced, taking account of feedback from businesses affected by its services before reaching a conclusion on compliance.

The review follows two decisions adopted on 23 July, when the European Commission found Google in breach of the Digital Markets Act. A €460 million fine concerned preferential treatment for Google’s own services in search results, while a separate €430 million penalty addressed restrictions preventing app developers from freely directing customers towards alternative purchasing channels.

Search rankings remain under examination

The first infringement concerns Google’s treatment of competing online services offering hotel reservations, shopping comparisons, transport information and sports results.

Regulators concluded that Google had placed its own services in more prominent positions, sometimes providing them with enhanced visual features and search functions unavailable to competing businesses.

The Digital Markets Act prohibits designated gatekeepers from giving their own products preferential treatment when ranking services that compete with those offered by other companies.

Google has already modified its European search results in response to the Commission’s decision. The changes include revised presentations of commercial information and greater prominence for independent comparison services.

As EU Today reported following the introduction of the revised search format, Google has argued that the measures could make searches less convenient and increase dependence on intermediary websites.

The company maintains that direct information previously available through its search engine may become harder for consumers to obtain.

For competitors, however, the question is whether Google’s adjustments provide genuine commercial opportunities or merely alter the appearance of search results without changing the underlying distribution of traffic.

Google Play fees face scrutiny

The second case concerns the Google Play application marketplace, where developers have historically depended on Google’s infrastructure to distribute software and sell subscriptions.

Under the DMA, developers must be able to inform customers about alternative offers and direct them towards purchasing arrangements outside the platform, including their own websites.

The Commission found that Google’s restrictions and fees had limited that freedom.

Although the company may charge for certain services associated with acquiring customers, the Commission concluded that the level and duration of its steering-related charges exceeded what the legislation permits.

Google has since adjusted its external-offers arrangements. European officials are examining whether those changes provide developers with a commercially workable alternative to transactions processed through Google Play.

The issue has consequences for subscription services, digital publishers and software companies seeking to maintain direct relationships with their customers.

A formal ability to direct consumers elsewhere is of limited benefit if the financial conditions make such transactions uneconomic.

Enforcement enters a more demanding phase

The Digital Markets Act was designed to address market practices that conventional competition investigations often took years to resolve.

Rather than requiring regulators to establish a new infringement through lengthy proceedings in every instance, the legislation imposes specific obligations on companies designated as gatekeepers.

The Commission’s DMA enforcement framework allows regulators to examine whether those obligations are being followed and to impose financial penalties when they are breached.

Google’s July fines represented an important enforcement decision. The current review concerns the company’s subsequent conduct and the practical effects of its compliance measures.

The continuation of discussions does not itself establish a fresh infringement. Further penalties would require an additional regulatory determination.

Google also faces broader obligations concerning the sharing of search data with competing providers, an issue addressed in a separate Commission decision issued in July.

These obligations concern access to anonymised information about searches, rankings and user interactions that competing search engines may need to improve their own services.

Taken together, the measures represent a substantial intervention in how Google’s European business operates.

Transatlantic tensions complicate the dispute

The proceedings have acquired a political dimension because most of the largest companies affected by the DMA are American.

President Donald Trump has criticised European penalties against US technology companies and threatened trade measures in response to what his administration regards as discriminatory regulation.

Brussels maintains that the legislation applies according to market position and commercial conduct, regardless of nationality.

European regulators must nevertheless enforce their decisions in an environment where competition policy has become entangled with wider trade relations between the United States and the European Union.

Google’s financial exposure extends beyond the €890 million imposed in July. Continued non-compliance could lead to further regulatory proceedings, while changes to the company’s services may also affect advertising revenue and its relationships with commercial partners.

The immediate assessment will concentrate on whether competing search services receive fair treatment and whether application developers can direct customers towards alternative transactions without unjustified restrictions.

The Commission has not announced a date for its final assessment. Its decision will help establish how far Europe’s digital competition legislation can change the conduct of companies whose platforms occupy central positions in online commerce.