This week’s EU developments

Our Sunday round-up isn’t about the omnibus this week, it’s about the stuff you might have missed

On the same day the European Commission published its long-awaited omnibus proposal, it published its Clean Industrial Deal.

Unlike the omnibus, the package was non-legislative, with legislative proposals to follow on a gradual basis over the next 18 months.

Also unlike the omnibus, the Clean Industrial Deal will intervene to change the cost of doing business in the real economy.

The strategy is mapped across six “business drivers”: affordable energy, lead markets, financing, skills, circularity, and global markets and international partnerships.

It covers everything from a pledge to lower electricity bills and scale renewables, through to pushing through the Critical Raw Materials Act and the Circular Economy Act.

Here are some of the commitments that will impact businesses across the economy.

The CBAM will be reformed

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will be reviewed this year, as expected.

The Commission wants 90% of companies (those importing less than 50 tonnes of eligible goods per year) to be exempt from CBAM. For those remaining, it proposes a simplified process and a more flexible approach to buying certificates.

Early next year, it is expected table a legislative proposal on extending CBAM’s rules to more key sectors. At the moment, the regime applies to imports of iron, steel, cement, fertiliser, aluminium, hydrogen and electricity. It could be rolled out to other metals, as well as chemicals, glass, pulp and paper.

There will be sector-specific plans

There are a raft of sector-specific actions slated for the coming year.

Commission President Von der Leyen is expected to chair the first meeting of a stakeholder forum known as the Strategic Dialogue on Steel on Tuesday, ahead of the publication of an action plan for steel and metals in the Spring.

On Wednesday, an action plan for automotives is set to be adopted.

Later in the year, a package for the chemical industry is due, with a sustainable transport investment plan and bioeconomy strategy also in the pipeline.

The Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act will include a sector-specific label that can be used on a voluntary basis to show the carbon intensity of products. A version for steel will be developed this year, followed by cement.

Public contracts will consider sustainability  

The Commission will move to revise the Public Procurement Framework so that contracts are awarded partly based on “non-price criteria” – including sustainability and resilience – in Europe’s key strategic sectors.

That’s expected by the end of 2026.

(It’s worth noting that the Commission has also suggested it will widen the use of non-price criteria, which also include cybersecurity and circularity, to national support programmes and other areas of the public budget.)

Funding

The Commission wants to establish an Industrial Decarbonisation Bank in 2026, to mobilise €100bn over the next decade to support companies trying to reduce their emissions.

It will also bolster its existing innovation funding.