On Wednesday 11 January, a further technical inter-institutional negotiation meeting took place regarding the Social Climate Fund, on which a political agreement was reached on 18 December (see EUROPE 13087/17).
The meeting, which is expected to be followed by a further technical trilogue next week, was reportedly aimed at finalising the final details, including recitals.
Other sources, however, believe that these last points discussed are not minor, one of them being the emergency brake agreed by the legislators in December allowing the implementation of the ETS2 (the emissions trading scheme extended to buildings and road transport) to be delayed by one year, if energy prices are above a certain threshold.
This emergency brake, if activated, would start ETS2 in 2028. This one-year postponement therefore casts doubt on how the Social Climate Fund will be financed for one year, between 2027 and 2028, as the Social Fund is largely funded by the ETS 2.
The EU Council reportedly indicated during this technical meeting that this will logically reduce the size of the Fund, which the European Parliament would not want.
We contacted the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council, but had not received a response to our requests at the time of writing. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)