The European Parliament has established a timetable to facilitate the agreement on post-2020 European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) reforms by the end of the following year.
According to an email from a Parliament spokesperson on Tuesday, the Parliament’s environment committee (ENVI) will be engaged in modifying the bill throughout the first half of 2016, with a final vote scheduled for September.
This timeline sets the stage for a fast-track trilogue procedure involving the European Commission and the Council of member states, aimed at reaching a final compromise before a plenary vote by the full Parliament in November. A similar process was successfully employed for the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) reforms earlier this year, resulting in the passage of a first reading agreement that was subsequently enacted into law.
Should the post-2020 EU ETS reforms follow a similar pace, the final law could be published in early 2017. The bill requires agreement from a majority of the Parliament and the Council of member states to become law. Environment ministers in the Council are scheduled to hold an orientation debate via webstream on Monday, October 26.
The complete timetable outlined by the Parliament includes the following steps:
Public hearing – during the ENVI meeting of February 18-19, 2016.
Consideration of the draft report in ENVI: April 18-19, 2016.
Deadline for amendments: April 26, 2016.
Consideration of amendments in the Committee: June 15-16, 2016.
Vote in ENVI: September 29, 2016.
Plenary vote (to be confirmed – tentatively set for November 2016).
