Ten EU member states, including Italy and Poland, signed a joint statement on 15 July, demanding the European Commission reconsider its ETS2 carbon pricing scheme for heating and transport fuels before the Commission unveils its full ETS revision on 17 July 2026, and hold enough votes to block any changes they oppose.
The European Commission faces a pushback from ten member states over its strategy to impose a carbon price on heating and transport fuels. On 15 July 2026, Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia signed a joint statement urging the EU to reconsider this new scheme, known as ETS2, before it launches in 2028.
The countries argue that adding a climate tax on fuel now conflicts with the economic pressures and geopolitical tensions Europe is navigating. Citizens shouldn’t bear extra costs while supply chains remain fragile and energy markets unstable. The bloc has already delayed ETS2 by a year—it was originally set for 2027—signalling just how contentious this move remains.
The opposition cuts directly across the bloc’s climate ambitions. Germany and Sweden view the carbon price as essential for pushing consumers toward electric vehicles and heat pumps, betting that tax revenue would then fund the transition directly. The Commission backs this logic, refusing to water down ETS2 before it even starts.
But the ten countries want changes to how the existing carbon market operates, too. They’re demanding the EU hand out more free emissions permits to industries without requiring them to spend on decarbonization in Europe. This signals a fundamental disagreement over who pays for the green transition.
The European Commission will unveil its full ETS revision on 17 July 2026. When EU governments and lawmakers negotiate these changes, the ten signatory states hold enough votes to block any amendments they collectively oppose. That’s enough weight to force compromise or derail the plan entirely.
