Brussels, 08/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - As already announced, EU Taxation Commissioner Algirdas Šemeta will unveil his draft revision of the EU energy tax directive (2003/96/EC) on Wednesday 13 April to adjust the directive to the EU's new energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions targets in the EU 2020 strategy. The aim is to introduce a compulsory minimum tax level and ensure energy taxation in the EU is made more objective and coherent. It is currently imbalanced due to the wide range of taxation in different countries and on different energy sources. The additional aim is to achieve this without “carbon leakage”.
The new system will take account of both the amount of energy (net calorific value in gigajoules) and also, and this is an innovation, of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted (measured in tonnes). It will apply to transport, buildings and farming, which between them are responsible for 60% of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, but will not apply to heavy industry or aviation, which use the carbon trading system (ETS).
In terms of the criteria being used by the Commission (compulsory minimum tax rates for energy consumption and a carbon tax of €20 a tonne), the new system would result in higher taxation for transport and fossil fuel for heating (particularly coal, which is subject to low taxes at present because of its high energy efficiency).
The first draft of the draft review (see EUROPE 10152) was rejected by the Commission on 23 June 2010 and the new version will have to be unanimously adopted. It is expected to be subject to tough negotiations among the member states, several of which are hostile to it. The leading countries opposing the idea are those which do not want any energy tax harmonisation, like the United Kingdom (which already levies a greenhouse gas emissions tax), Ireland and Luxembourg (where fuel duty is low), along with Germany and Poland, both of which consumer large amounts of coal.
It is therefore not certain that the timeline suggested by the Commission (transposition of the revised directive late in 2012 so that the new tax rates come into force on 1 January 2013) will be respected. (F.G./transl.fl)