Members of the European Parliament’s Transport Committee debated on Tuesday 17 May the draft report by Jörgen Warborn (EPP, Sweden) on the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels in maritime transport (‘FuelEU Maritime’) (see EUROPE 12939/1), while almost 690 amendments were presented by the different political groups in the Parliament.
In concrete terms, the report drawn up by Mr Warborn does not deviate much from the European Commission’s initial proposal as regards definitions and scope.
“I support the thresholds for the incorporation of renewable fuels - the levels will already be difficult to reach”, said the rapporteur.
“Some MEPs would like to double the thresholds, but I am concerned about this approach. It takes time to produce fuels and to have the appropriate infrastructure. There would be a risk of not having any fuel”, he added.
In addition to respecting the principle of technological neutrality and retaining the 5,000 tonne minimum for a ship to be covered by the text, the rapporteur also supports a scope that covers 50% of extra-European journeys, as the European Commission intended.
“This could have important consequences, even triggering a trade war with some of our partners, if we extend it, as some colleagues want, to 100%. We can regulate half of the journey for ourselves, you can regulate the other half, that seems to me to be a fair approach”, Mr Warborn said.
The rapporteur also stressed the need to focus on high-frequency ports and not to “force smaller ports to install infrastructure that will only be used in rare cases”.
While the text already seems to have the support of some MEPs, others insisted on setting sub-targets for liquefied natural gas and paying particular attention to the potential socioeconomic impacts that the transition of the maritime sector could have.
Finally, on the S&D side, Dutch MEP Vera Tax, who called for sub-targets for hydrogen, expressed regret that her group’s amendments had not been taken into account.
“A large majority is needed, because negotiations with the EU Council will be even more complicated if we are internally divided. We need to work in a more consensual way”, Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D, Belgium) warned in conclusion. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)