France, Italy, and Slovakia have urged the EU to simplify its carbon border levy rules this year, calling for reduced red tape and standardized emissions calculations to ease the burden on businesses.
France, Italy and Slovakia have demanded the EU amend its carbon border levy this year to simplify the rules for businesses covered by the scheme, a document seen by Reuters showed.
The European Commission has already proposed changes that would exempt 90% of companies from the carbon border levy, which from 2026 will impose costs on imports of CO2-heavy goods including steel and cement.
The policy is designed to shield European producers against cheaper rivals in countries with less ambitious climate laws, and prevent them shifting investments abroad to countries including the U.S., where the Trump administration is aggressively rolling back regulation.
France and Italy, the European Union's second and third-biggest economies, demanded on Thursday that Brussels goes further in paring back the policy's administrative rules. This could include by letting companies use standardised calculations for the emissions produced by goods, France, Italy and Slovakia said in a joint paper seen by Reuters.
This would ease the reporting burden for companies covered by the rules, they said, echoing broader calls from some governments and businesses for Brussels to cut red tape to help struggling industries regain a competitive edge.
"The complexity of this system can lead to delays and a significant increase in management and operational costs for European companies," the paper said.
EU countries and lawmakers must negotiate and approve the Commission's proposed changes to the carbon border tariff in the coming months - giving them an opportunity to make further changes to the rules.
The three countries said Brussels should also consider giving European exporting companies free CO2 permits, to help them compete in global markets with rivals that do not pay pollution costs.
Through its bloc-wide carbon market, the EU requires manufacturers to pay for each ton of planet-heating CO2 they emit. China and some U.S. states also have carbon markets, but Europe's CO2 price is far higher than that of other major economies.
EU countries' environment ministers will discuss the three countries' proposal at a meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
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Football superstar Lionel Messi has arrived in India to kick off his highly anticipated GOAT India Tour 2025, a three-day, four-city visit running from 13 to 15 December.
The upcoming meeting in Berlin between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European officials is set to focus on advancing a proposed peace framework, though analysts warn reaching a deal may be difficult.
Japan has lifted a tsunami advisory issued after an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 hit the country's northeastern region on Friday (12 December), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. The JMA had earlier put the earthquake's preliminary magnitude at 6.7.
The United States issued new sanctions targeting Venezuela on Thursday, imposing curbs on three nephews of President Nicolas Maduro's wife, as well as six crude oil tankers and shipping companies linked to them, as Washington ramps up pressure on Caracas.
The resignation of Bulgaria's government on Thursday (11 December) puts an end to an increasingly unpopular coalition but is likely to usher in a period of prolonged political instability on the eve of the Black Sea nation's entry into the euro zone.
An extratropical cyclone has caused widespread disruption across Brazil’s São Paulo state, with powerful winds toppling trees and power lines, blocking streets and leaving large parts of the region without electricity.
Pakistan has indicated its openness to forming a regional bloc with Bangladesh without including India. The statement from Islamabad follows comments by Bangladesh’s top foreign affairs adviser, Md Touhid Hossain, that such an arrangement is strategically possible without India.
As the world marks the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, progress in combating global climate change is mixed.
An extratropical cyclone has caused widespread disruption across Brazil’s São Paulo state, with powerful winds toppling trees and power lines, blocking streets and leaving large parts of the region without electricity.
Indonesia's military stepped up its relief efforts in three provinces on Sumatra island that have been devastated by deadly floods and landslides, and the country's vice president apologised for shortcomings in the response to last week's disaster.
Authorities in Senegal have launched urgent measures to prevent a potential oil spill after water entered the engine room of the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker Mersin off the coast of Dakar, the port authority said on Sunday.
The death toll from devastating floods across Southeast Asia climbed to at least 183 people on Friday (28 November). Authorities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka struggle to rescue stranded residents, restore power and communications, and deliver aid to cut-off communities.
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