On Tuesday 13 May, the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) adopted their position on the ‘omnibus’ initiative amending the Regulation on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) (see EUROPE 13588/4) by an overwhelming majority: 85 votes in favour, one against and one abstention.
They have aligned themselves with the Commission’s proposal, except for one detail: they are proposing to exempt non-EU members of the European Economic Area, i.e. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, from CBAM.
The general spirit of the text, which consists of simplifying procedures and exempting small importers thanks to the new threshold of 50 tonnes of annual imports, is acceptable to MEPs.
The absence of amendments is also the result of an agreement between the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe and the Greens/EFA not to reopen the text on aspects other than those proposed by the European Commission.
Several weeks earlier, the European Parliament’s Committees on International Trade, Industry and the Budget also supported the European Commission’s proposal unchanged in their draft opinion.
The full European Parliament is expected to vote on the report at its plenary session on 22 May, after which Parliament will be ready to negotiate with the Council, which is expected to adopt its position on 27 May. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)