TRAN COMMITTEE DEBATES FUELEU MARITIME
On 17 May, the EP’s Transport (TRAN) Committee held a debate on the amendments (here and here) to Rapporteur Jorgen Warborn’s (EPP, Sweden) draft report on the FuelEU Maritime proposal. The Rapporteur welcomed the agreement among most MEPs on the need for technological neutrality, saying that this was the best way to ensure that the energy transition was designed in a cost-effective way.
Mr Warborn also called for binding limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity and using them as tools to push the maritime sector in the right direction. Shadow Rapporteurs Vera Tax (S&D, the Netherlands) and Jutta Paulus (Greens/EFA, Germany) stressed the importance of attaining 100% reduction in the maritime sector’s GHG emissions by 2050, which was essential to keeping the climate goals within reach. MEP Elsi Katainen (Renew, Finland), called for moderated ambition, citing the need to ensure competitiveness in the shipping sector.
In response to MEPs, the European Commission commented that all elements and targets of the proposal need to be seen in conjunction with the other files of the Fit for 55 Package notably the EU ETS, the Renewable Energy Directive and the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation. The commission therefore called for a comprehensive approach on these files in order to help the EU reaching its climate goals.
The TRAN Committee is expected to vote on its report on 11-12 July, before a vote in Plenary session scheduled after the summer break.