The request by the Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Pascal Canfin (Renew Europe, France), to refer three key texts of the ‘Fit for 55’ package (see EUROPE 12967/1) back to committee, based on Rule 198 of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, has created some confusion among parliamentary actors dealing with the dossier on the creation of the Social Climate Fund (SCF), of which the final amendments were voted on Wednesday 8 June.
Like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the Social Climate Fund has suffered from the rejection of Peter Liese’s (EPP, Germany) report on the revision of the Emissions Trading System (ETS), as its existence is linked to the establishment of a second carbon market for buildings and road transport (ETS2).
However, it is not expected to be referred back to the parliamentary committee, unlike the CBAM report, which is directly linked to the substance of the ETS, according to several sources interviewed on 9 June.
Esther de Lange (EPP, the Netherlands), co-rapporteur on the SCF, had in fact asked on Wednesday, after the vote on the amendments, to activate Rule 200.4 of the Rules of Procedure concerning the postponement of the final vote on the text and not a referral back to committee.
On Thursday, these sources were still waiting for clarification on the precise article, but said they felt Article 200.4 should prevail.
They also anticipated only technical, not political, difficulties, as the contours of the Fund were “not to be reopened”, said one source. There is even a high probability that the groups will renew their commitment to respect what has been adopted, whatever the relevant article, and look ahead towards the final vote in plenary on 22 June.
The EPP group, which had tabled an amendment on the inclusion of SMEs in the scope of the Fund, is said to have understood the message sent by MEPs on Wednesday, who rejected this possibility. In principle, the EPP is therefore not expected to come back on the issue of SMEs. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)