Member States’ divisions over different types of hydrogen cause difficulties in adopting EU Council conclusions
The Member States’ Ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) were unable to reach joint conclusions on the establishment of a European hydrogen market on Friday 4 December because of divisions over the role of different types of hydrogen.
According to our information, Spain, who was supported by Luxembourg and Austria, was not satisfied with the latest draft conclusions tabled by the German Presidency of the EU Council (see EUROPE 12615/11) on the grounds that the text did not sufficiently prioritise renewable hydrogen over low-carbon hydrogen.
On the other hand, a large majority of Member States would be in favour of adopting the text as it stands and would reject any significant change to it as they are of the opinion that it is a balanced text.
The ambassadors therefore left without agreement, despite the efforts of the German Presidency, which during the meeting made changes to the text in the hope of finding a compromise. The aim now is to reach an agreement on Wednesday 9 December, we are told.
Offshore and other renewable energies
On the other hand, the Ambassadors approved the draft conclusions on the promotion of European cooperation in the field of offshore and other renewable energies.
See the draft conclusions on hydrogen: https://bit.ly/3g7Avt6 and on offshore and other renewable energies: https://bit.ly/3g5ujCf (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)