Brussels, 16/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 16 December, the EP adopted, by a relative majority (467 in favour, 118 against and 116 abstentions), an own-initiative report on the development of a sustainable European industry for base metals in which they call, amongst other things, for carbon adjustment on the external borders.
This adjustment was the subject of a heated debate at the European Parliament in November, which was attended by the Commissioner for Industry, Elzbieta Bienkowska (see EUROPE 11438). The EPP was particularly divided over the issue and gave no voting instructions, a Parliamentary source told EUROPE. The question of the primacy of the primary materials sector (production of metals) over the secondary sector (automotive) is believed to have been behind this deep division within the group between the MEPs from the countries of the East and the South, such as Italy, France and Greece, who are in favour of this adjustment, and those from the northern European states, such as Germany and United Kingdom, who are not.
Central to the debate was the issue of the legislative fragmentation between the 28 member states over the compensation of indirect carbon -related costs, as a number of member states, among them Germany, offset these costs, whilst others, such as Italy, do not, and yet others offset them to a small extent, such as Spain. France is a separate case, as its model is based mainly on nuclear, which by its nature emits very little CO2, the same source explained.
Édouard Martin (S&D, France), author of the report, put two amendments to a roll-call vote. Both of these amendments had been rejected at the vote of the committee on industry (ITRE) in October, one on the consequences of the recognition of market economy status of China and the other on greater involvement for workers in strategic decisions. Both of these amendments were adopted, the latter albeit by a very narrow margin (11 votes).
Following a decision made on 26 October by the European Commission, a high-level group on the energy-intensive industries is to meet for the first time on Friday 18 December. The high-level conference, which was announced following the extraordinary Council on the steel industry, is to be held in February of next year, a European source confirmed (see EUROPE 11427).
“It's far too late”, Martin (S&D, France) said when contacted by EUROPE. He wants a decision in January, reiterating the urgency of the situation of the steel sector in France, Belgium and the United Kingdom. The MEP hit out at the British position, having called an extraordinary Council to respond to the steel crisis, but then rejecting the adjustment plan, “for dogmatic reasons”. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)