06/12/2016 (Agence Europe) – The vote of the committee on the environment of the European Parliament on the highly sensitive dossier on long-term reform of the emissions quota trading system of the EU (ETS), initially scheduled for this Thursday 8 December, has been postponed until 15 December. This is to give the shadow rapporteurs time to reach agreement on the compromise amendments. These will be vital, given that 1,400 amendments have been tabled to the report by Ian Duncan (ECR, UK). For an eminently technical dossier of this kind, on which there are two separate gulfs (one between the countries of the East and the countries of the West, the other between political groups), the majority is necessarily going to be very tight. It is preferable to reach compromises in committee to be able to start negotiations with the Council without going to a plenary session, on pain of a new salvo of amendments with no certain outcome. (AN)