Five EU states push Brussels to ease carbon costs for industry

Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland are pushing for changes to the EU's carbon market to give European industry more time and flexibility to cut emissions without losing competitiveness, according to a document seen by Euronews.

The five countries argue that companies face enormous costs to decarbonise factories while competing with producers outside Europe that are not subject to the same carbon price.

"We need something like an 'export discount' because we have a huge problem when we start doing business outside," Austrian Industry and Energy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer told reporters on Thursday.

The appeal came as EU industry ministers gathered in Brussels amid debate over the European Commission's proposed revision of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) — added to the Competitiveness Council agenda because of its impact on industry, the Austrian minister said.