How can the EU reach its 32% renewable energy target by 2030 without assigning specific targets to individual member states? Dr. Jonas Schoenefeld and Prof. Dr. Michèle Knodt investigate the EU's response to this vexed question in a brand new open access paper that has just appeared in the leading international journal West European Politics. They argue that the EU is applying a new form of steering, namely “harder soft governance”, which combines softer elements of steering (such as policy monitoring and reporting) with harder elements (such as the threat of sanctions or more publicity) in novel ways. The efficacy of this new governance effort will have high relevance for the delivery of the emerging European Green Deal. The paper is freely accessible to all on the Internet.