Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, was the guest of “8:30 am franceinfo”, Tuesday August 16, 2022. Fight against fires, energy crisis, public accounts… He answers questions from Céline Asselot and Jean- Francois Achill.
Fires: “We will double the fleet of water bombers by 2029”
Since the beginning of the year, 660,000 hectares of vegetation have burned in Europe, a tenth in France. “We will double the fleet of water bombers by 2029” European protection against fires, announces Thierry Breton. “Two additional bombers will be positioned in France, two more in Italy, two in Greece, two in Spain and two in Portugal”he adds.
France, since it asked for help to deal with the fires, has in addition to “its 12 water bombers, 6 additional water bombers, that is half of the European fleet. Half of the European fleet is positioned at Mérignac, Bordeaux airport.”
Energy crisis: “I am confident, we will make it through the winter”
“We will make it through the winter, I am confident”, believes Thierry Breton, about the energy crisis affecting Europe. To avoid a possible shortage of gas, which usually comes for a large part from Russia, the European Commissioner assures that “we are currently filling all of our tanks”. According to him, “last year, at the same time, we were at 61% occupancy, this year we are at 76%”.
Public accounts: “We will have to return to the 3% deficit”
“I say clearly that we will have to return to the 3% deficit”, declares Thierry Breton. According to INSEE, France had a deficit of 6.4% in 2021. On the other hand, the European Commissioner raises the possibility of a “recast of the Stability and Growth Pact” European Union and the 60% rule for the debt ratio of member countries: “On debt, we are going to look at it in a modular and pragmatic way. We will have to find rules that are more compatible with the current situation”.
Find the entire “8:30 am franceinfo” of Tuesday August 16, 2022: