EU finance ministers are seeking agreement on their position for legal changes to the bloc's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), extending the scope to more downstream products and adding anti-circumvention measures. Final tweaks and clarifications specify the European Commission's power to suspend CBAM for problematic sectors.
The text drawn up for finance ministers, who meet on 12 June, takes account of a majority that has spoken out against giving the commission broad empowerment to temporarily remove specific goods from CBAM under a new article 27a. Diplomats noted the risks of "jeopardising" the effectiveness of CBAM and the "imprecise" scope of the powers.
To bridge differences, Cyprus, chairing discussions between diplomats, has built on a previous draft to specify the conditions that the commission could use to trigger CBAM suspension. This includes average non-CBAM-related import price increases of more than 50pc compared with average prices for the same CBAM goods over the previous 10 years. Price increases would need to be sustained over a period of at least six months.
If finance ministers agree on the text on 12 June, EU states would be ready for negotiations over a final legal draft with the European Parliament after summer. Cypriot diplomats suggested article 27a remains in the European Council's draft position as a "good basis" for the talks.
During a first discussion, members of parliament's environment committee broadly supported deleting the new article 27a. But some members have called for partial or full CBAM suspension. The committee is expected to vote on the issue on 6 July, followed by the whole parliament in early September.
Discussions on CBAM's suspension have continued following the commission's adoption last month of a fertilizer action plan, including measures such as financial relief for farmers, and assessing stockpiling options for key fertilizers and inputs.
