Kauppalehti’s information: The Commission’s surprising presentation on the diesel crisis

According to information from Kauppalehti, the commission will propose on Wednesday the postponement of the methane rules for the import of fossil fuels by one year. In addition, the commission is investigating joint procurement of diesel and the continuation of the temporary state support framework for the most vulnerable industries.

These are the Commission’s key new actions to resolve the Middle East energy crisis.

Other measures are being prepared, such as a short-term framework for improving the EU’s refinery capacity and efficiency, and initiatives to promote joint procurement of energy demand.

The actions are related to rapidly rising energy and fuel prices, which are also a central theme at the summit meeting of EU leaders on Thursday and Friday.

According to information from Kauppalehti, the member states plan to urge the Commission to prepare even more short-term measures to curb the rise in energy prices.

According to the Commission’s research, the energy crisis of 2026 will have significant effects, as it will reduce the creation of new jobs in the EU by around 440,000 compared to a situation where there would be no energy shock.

Industry requires changes

The EU is currently negotiating future changes to the emissions trading system.

Europe’s energy-intensive industry wants the review of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) to be made the central theme of the summit. The background is high energy prices and the weakened competitiveness of European industry.

The price of carbon emission rights is estimated to be about ten percent of the price of electricity paid by industry in Europe.

According to the European alliance of energy-intensive industries, the free allocation of emission rights must be maintained without new conditions. The industry opposes the Commission’s plans to tie free emission rights to new investment obligations or other additional requirements.

According to the companies, the EU should focus above all on strengthening competitiveness, attracting investments and preventing carbon leakage.

The leaders of the member states are also expected to demand determined energy policy actions from the Commission at the summit.

In the latest draft decision of the summit seen by Kauppalehti, the member countries emphasize the need for a “well-functioning, transparent and predictable carbon market”, which strengthens the competitiveness of European industry, protects against carbon leakage and preserves the central role of emissions trading in the climate and energy transition.

Difficult conversations

The price of energy is expected to become one of the most difficult economic and competitiveness issues at the summit, when trying to ease the cost pressure of industry without jeopardizing the EU’s climate goals.

Especially the Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni and Poland, among others, are pushing for changes to the EU’s emissions trading system (ETS), because they believe that the high price of emission rights increases energy costs.

Minister for Europe and Ownership Joakim Strand (r) said on Tuesday evening that he hopes that it will be clearly stated at the head level that the current emissions trading system will be maintained and that the level of its ambition will not be lowered or the system will be loosened.

“This is important for Finland, which has a strong cleantech and energy technology industry and which takes its solutions all over the world. At the same time, predictability and a stable and reliable emissions trading system are also very important for European companies,” said Strand.

In the draft text of the summit, the member states remind of the EU’s long-term goal of reducing dependence on the unstable fossil fuel market. At the same time, it is stated that a clean energy transition is still the most effective way to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy, improve crisis resilience and structurally lower the price of energy.

According to EU leaders, this requires accelerating electrification, speeding up the introduction of renewable and low-carbon energy sources, developing electricity networks and energy storage, and improving energy efficiency.