EU presidency could reopen door to coal subsidies

Current holder of the rotating EU Council presidency, Estonia, is proposing to abandon a measure designed to prevent state subsidies to coal-fired power generation as it seeks to forge a compromise between national governments on proposed new EU electricity market rules, according to negotiating documents released ahead of closed talks.

A draft Council position on the proposed regulation on the EU’s internal electricity market, dated 30 November, shows that the Estonian negotiators have proposed dropping a 550g per kilowatt hour emissions standard for existing coal plants to be eligible for state support via so-called capacity mechanisms.