The Community guidelines on State aid and EUETS after 2013 – changes urgently needed
- Category: Emissions trading
The Community guidelines on State aid for environmental protection, which were adopted in 2008 (OJ C 82, 1.4.2008, p.1. – hereafter the Environmental State Aid Guidelines) are not yet adapted to a climate-energy legislative package, in particular to the Directive 2003/87/EC (as amended by the Directive 2009/29/EC).
Some of the State aid measures foreseen by the Directive 2009/29/EC are not covered by the existing Guidelines and thus the interpretation of these measures on the basis of State aid rules can raise several questions.
VAT taxation of EUAs, CERs and ERUs trading – state of play
- Category: taxation issues
If a company trading in CO2 allowances had a subsidiaries in United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Romania and Poland, only as regards intra–Community, cross–border transactions all the subsidiaries would have an equal level-playing field.
When we take into consideration allowances traded domestically in each of these countries, each of the aforementioned subsidiaries would have to apply different legal regime. Such a situation hardly can be regarded as an acceptable from a common market point of view.
But the odds are that nothing will change in the near future. The new draft of amendment to the VAT Directive (proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards an optional and temporary application of the reverse charge mechanism in relation to supplies of certain goods and services susceptible to fraud) provides for the measures, which are only of optional and temporary nature.
The Polish NAP II - is the game definitively ended?
- Category: Legal Alert
As the KASHUE (Polish National Administration for EUETS) announced, submissions relating to the draft of the NAP for the period 2008 - 2012 may be made only by the date 23 March 2010. According to the KASHUE, methodology for allocation of allowances applied in the draft, is analogous to that of 1 July 2008.
The European Commission upheld thus its decision relating to Polish CO2 allocations – despite the court defeat. But taking into consideration the findings of Court of First Instance in he judgment of 23 September 2009 in Case T‑183/07 there is still theoretically possible the opposite move – the increase in amount of allocations.
Since all depends on actual emissions figures – and these must be up-to-date.
Exclusion from tenders for five years as a consequence of the negative verification of energy savings
- Category: Energy efficiency
The draft of a new Polish law on energy efficiency envisages inter alia the framework for the system of “white certificates” that will be issued by the Polish Energy Regulatory Office (URE) and serve as a confirmation of the energy savings as a consequence of energy efficiency improvement measures. But the negative verification of energy savings will be very risky...
CCS Directive – government proposals for implementation in Poland
- Category: CCS
According to the proposals that are published at the website of the Polish Ministry of the Environment, the legal framework for the activities relating to carbon capture and storage in Poland will be designed by the amendment of the existing Geologic and Mining Law.
The proposal unfortunately does not reveal particulars relating to the form and extent of the required financial security, which are the matters of utmost attention for the bankers, lawyers and insurers interested in CCS.
EUAs traded on the spot market considered financial instruments (in Romania)
- Category: taxation issues
EU-wide exemption of the supply of emission allowances from VAT while allowing for deduction of related costs is extremely needed for the cohesion of the carbon market.