The French Presidency of the Council of the European Union (FPEU) submitted a compromise text on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to the EU-27 Ambassadors (Coreper) on Friday 4 March. In the European Parliament, the report by Mohammed Chahim (S&D, the Netherlands) on CBAM is expected to be voted in plenary in June (see EUROPE 12862/3).
The text proposed by France is in line with the proposal made by the European Commission in July 2021 (see EUROPE 12762/5). Whether it is the implementation of the mechanism based on responsible authorities in each Member State, the scope, or the timetable for entry into force, the text includes the same elements as the initial proposal.
While the sectors covered are the same (cement, fertiliser, steel and iron, aluminium and electricity), the FPEU proposes to exempt all products with a total shipment value of up to
The French Presidency is currently putting aside several thorny issues in the text, such as the phasing out of free allocations under the Emissions Trading System (ETS). It does not propose a method of calculation or a date for the final abolition of these free allowances, unlike Mr Chahim. For the time being, it chooses to separate the two issues, as suggested by the rapporteur for the HTA review, Peter Liese (see EUROPE 12872/4, 12882/2).
The timetable for the full entry into force of CBAM is maintained for the beginning of 2026. But the compromise proposal suggests that importers would have to apply to the competent authorities for import authorisation as early as 1 January 2025, six months earlier than the Commission originally intended. This step is part of the transitional set-up of the mechanism.
In addition, France is proposing a higher fine for economic actors importing goods without being declared or approved by the competent authorities. Fraudsters would have to pay three to five times the basic fine, whereas the Commission did not foresee a doubling of the fine for this type of infringement.
EUROPE will return to other elements of the text in more detail. See the compromise: https://aeur.eu/f/mx (Original version in French by Léa Marchal with Damien Genicot)