During the current plenary session at the European Parliament in Brussels, a debate was held on simplifying and strengthening the border price adjustment mechanism for CO2 emissions (CBAM), which applies to imports of certain goods and selected precursors: cement, iron and steel, aluminum, fertilizers, electricity, and hydrogen. PiS MEP Patryk Jaki took the floor during the debate to present the ECR’s position on the matter, emphasizing the need to protect European producers of coking coal and soda ash.
“Everything around us—from bridges, cars, and furniture to those modern office buildings and the wind turbines and solar panels you all love—is made of steel. And coking coal is needed to produce durable steel, as well as for the steel industry," — Jaki noted, emphasizing that coking coal is a strategic raw material without which there will be neither development nor security in the European Union. He stated that Poland and Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa are the largest producers of this raw material in the European Union. “Unfortunately, thanks to your colleagues from the Civic Platform, JSW is on the verge of collapse,” – said the Polish politician, pointing out that JSW is being driven to ruin by green policies and uncontrolled imports of this raw material from outside the European Union, where there are no climate policy burdens. “So why aren’t coking coal and its derivatives, which enter the European Union without bearing the costs of climate policy, subject to tariffs—which are, after all, intended for this very purpose? How is the same product from Poland, burdened by the ‘green backpack’ of costs, supposed to compete with the same product from Africa that is free of these burdens?” asked the ECR leader.
As he noted, the same applies to soda ash. “There is and will continue to be demand for soda in the European Union. Yet you have just solemnly decided to shut down one of the largest such plants in the European Union, in Poland, in Janikowo—leaving hundreds of people out on the street, and the business is now beyond recovery,” — said Jaki, pointing out that the owners claim they could not bear the costs of the Green Deal. At the same time, he added, the Turks and the Chinese are supplying that same soda to our market. “So you shut down your own business to ‘save the planet,’ only to import the same product from Turkey, which emits even more carbon dioxide,” said the PiS politician.
The MEP noted that the ECR Group, while generally supporting the proposal itself, has therefore tabled an amendment regarding the possibility of extending the CBAM mechanism to cover imports of soda ash and coking coal from outside the European Union. “We must save our economy, our development, and our security,” he emphasized.
A vote on this matter took place today at 11 a.m. The ECR Group supported the proposal to simplify the CBAM, which is part of a broader initiative aimed at streamlining the regulatory framework for market operators. The ECR believes that simplifying the CBAM and exempting occasional importers who import up to 50 metric tons of CBAM-covered goods per year is a step in the right direction to ensure the effectiveness of the CBAM as a tool that guarantees a level playing field for European producers of steel, aluminum, fertilizers, electricity, and hydrogen, while reducing red tape for small and medium-sized enterprises and national administrations.
At the same time, the ECR Group has tabled amendments regarding the imposition of duties on soda ash and coking coal imported into the EU, in order to fully protect the European economy and competitiveness.
