The Polish Presidency of the EU Council has proposed that the European Commission assess the environmental performance of energy products every three years, according to the latest compromise proposal on the Energy Taxation Directive, dated Monday 12 May (see EUROPE 13542/1).
This assessment would take place every three years. If the categorisation of products becomes incompatible with their actual environmental impact, the Commission would then present the EU Council with a targeted amendment to the directive to change the energy product category. This amendment would be subject to a unanimous vote within the EU Council.
In addition, the Polish Presidency wants to take into account requests from national delegations that energy-intensive industries should benefit from support in the form of an exclusion from the scope of the directive, as far as electricity and energy products used in mineralogical processes are concerned. It therefore proposes to maintain the current status quo in this respect.
“Such an approach appears justified due to the decline in the competitiveness of the EU industry and the lack of alternative solutions that could, in the near future, improve the situation of those sectors of the EU economy that are crucial for its overall performance”, explain the Polish authorities.
The Polish Presidency also suggests deleting the section that included fossil waste oils in the scope of the directive. As a result, all waste used for heating purposes will not be subject to the taxation provided for in the proposed Directive.
To read the proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/gsp (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)