News
Good morning and welcome to your Unbound Daily Briefing for Friday 29th May - here are the topics we'll be covering today:
- EU Member State Backlash Against ETS Scheme
- "Big 6" EU Economies Reach Agreement on Financial Ties
- Food & Drink Federation Raise Red Flag on EU Dynamic Alignment
EU Member State Backlash Against ETS Scheme
Euronews reported yesterday evening that six EU member states have again raised serious concerns with the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), stating that the upcoming cuts to emissions allowances are "too severe" and will drive industry out of the EU into countries where they can operate profitably.
Bulgaria, Czechia, Greece, Poland, Romania and Slovakia all warned against the action that was announced on 11 May, to significantly reduce the allowances for emissions. Italy and Austria have also since reportedly approved of the warning, effectively aligning with the six nation complaint.
This story is worthy of attention in the UK, as dynamic alignment with the EU ETS scheme is one of the main areas of negotiation between the UK Government and EU, expected to be announced in July. It stands to reason that if EU member states themselves are calling the EU ETS scheme an existential risk to their industries, then the UK should exercise extreme caution in any alignment.
- Read the Euronews article on this story
- Read the Euronews story on 10 member states calling the ETS scheme an "existential risk"
"Big 6" EU Economies Reach Agreement on Financial Ties
The EUs six biggest economies (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and The Netherlands) have reportedly reached an agreement themselves on how they collectively want the EU as a whole to move forward on creating the unified equivalent of the US Wall Street financial market. A joint statement on what has been agreed in principle between them, is expected to be released later today.
The deal reportedly includes the handing over of further sovereign powers to the EU Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) - though this agreement is expected to be vague on the timelines for transfer of this power, with disagreement within the six countries on how long should be provided as a transition period.
This agreement will face strong opposition from Ireland and Luxembourg, who will see major effects to their economies should such a deal come to pass - the agreement between the E6 nations is seen to be significant as they also represent the majority of the EU population, but such an agreement will only be able to take effect once it has a qualified majority of support across the whole EU (15 or more member states, representing 65% or more of the EU population).
- Read the Politico article on the news of the agreement
- Read the Julian Jessop post on X/Twitter, in reference to the agreement and initial thoughts
Food & Drink Federation Raise Red Flag on EU Dynamic Alignment
The Food & Drink Federation (FDF) put out a press release yesterday, outlining the concerns of the UK food manufacturing industry and their collapse in confidence for their futures, due to multiple concurrent pressures including the conflict in the Middle East, new packaging recycling rules, and the expected realignment with EU rules.
- Read the FDF press release, on collapsing food manufacturing confidence due to multiple pressures
