In a document dated Tuesday 14 October, the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union recommended to the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) that they should not object to the delegated act on low-carbon hydrogen presented by the European Commission at the beginning of July (see EUROPE 13677/21).
This act, which was criticised by industry and environmental groups when it was first conceived, aims to define the hydrogen that can be considered ‘low carbon’. This is particularly the case if greenhouse gas emissions over the entire life cycle are reduced by at least 70% compared to the use of fossil fuels.
In its document, the Danish Presidency states that unless the European Parliament rejects the delegated act, it “shall be published and enter into force”.
Parliament and the Council of the EU had two months to approve or reject the text, but an extension was granted until 8 November at the request of Parliament.
The Conservative group (ECR) (see EUROPE 13713/22) and the far-right group (PfE) (https://aeur.eu/f/izv ) each tabled a motion of objection, citing “restrictive and unworkable rules for calculating emissions”. These motions will be voted on by the Committee on Industry (ITRE) on 16 October.
Some members of the EPP Group were also highly critical of the delegated act proposed by the Commission. But they did not submit a proposed objection (see EUROPE 13702/2) and, according to our information, are not expected to support any of the objections raised by the ECR and the PfE.
To see the document from the Danish Presidency: https://aeur.eu/f/izu (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)