A first version of a European Parliament resolution and oral question on ‘energy-intensive industries’ (EIIs), sponsored by the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and The Left groups and due to be voted on by the ITRE committee on 18 March was obtained by Agence Europe on 5 February. It calls on the Commission to develop measures to bring down gas prices for “hard-to-abate activities”.
The document, whose lead rapporteur is the Italian Socialist Giorgio Gori, suggests renewing the Market Correction Mechanism (MCM), i.e. a cap on gas prices (see EUROPE 13570/24), “to ensure the continuity of protection against gas price surges and potential speculations”. It also calls for the aggregation of demand and group purchasing of gas by the public. A meeting of the shadow rapporteurs was held on Thursday 6 February to discuss these initial points.
In addition, the document states that further measures are needed to implement the electricity market design, in particular to promote Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and Contracts for Difference (CfDs) (see EUROPE 13560/27) to reduce energy costs for these industries.
The draft resolution - which is due to be voted on at the April plenary session - calls for an examination and assessment of all existing obstacles to the signing of long-term contracts and, “if any, explore additional ways to decouple fossil fuel prices from electricity prices, in the framework of EMD, including by bringing forward the analysis of the short-term markets by June 2026”.
The document also highlights mechanisms such as the ‘anticipation-restitution’ model used in Italy, which involves reserving renewable energy at a fixed cost for IICs in exchange for investment in renewable installations to produce the same amount of energy.
This first draft also calls for better integration of energy systems, in particular strengthening interconnections, using ETS revenues efficiently and supporting industry’s efforts to decarbonise.
In particular, the document calls on the Commission to reassess the existing steel safeguard mechanism and to introduce a new safeguard mechanism after 2026 “to address unfair competition and dumping practices” (see EUROPE 13547/33).
Finally, it stresses the need to ensure effective implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and to create ‘green’ lead markets for European products, notably by introducing sustainability, resilience and non-tariff criteria into EU public procurement.
To see the draft resolution, go to https://aeur.eu/f/fdz (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)