The man who was spearheading the European Commission’s climate ambitions and a key champion for the proposed Nature Restoration Law wants to become the next Dutch prime minister.
The European Commission’s executive vice-president, Frans Timmermans, said in an interview with the Dutch broadcaster, NOS, that he wants to become party leader of PvdA/GroenLinks – an alliance between Labour and Green parties.
His aim for the party is then to win the next Dutch general election which is expected to take place on November 22.
Timmermans, who has spent 10 years at the heart of high level politics in Brussels, has informed the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, of his plans to leave and contest the election.
The commission has not formally confirmed his departure or indicated who could replace him but under current arrangements the Netherlands would have to nominate another commissioner to take Timmermans’ place.
He was widely seen as the visionary behind the commission’s over-arching Green Deal ambitions and whoever steps into the role will be expected to deliver on the commission’s climate action targets.
Last year he described nature as “our greatest ally in the fight against the climate and biodiversity crises”.
“It shields us from climate extremes and absorbs carbon. Right now, Europe’s nature is struggling and our carbon sinks are shrinking.
“By setting a higher target for carbon removals through nature and ensuring more accurate monitoring, our new regulation on land use and forests helps to redress that situation and puts the European carbon sink on a path to growth again,” Timmermans said when the EU agreed to increase carbon removals through land use, forestry and agriculture.
Dutch politics
In his interview with NOS, Timmermans said that he believed that the Netherlands could “do politics in a different way”.
One of his key opponents in the upcoming election battle will be the leader of the pro-farming political party, BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB).
The leader of BBB, Caroline van der Plas, is a former agri-journalist whose Irish born mother was a councillor for the Christian Democrat party.