EU backs plan for the first CO2 emissions tariff to be introduced by 2026
On Tuesday, March 15th, 2022, the European Union countries voted to back a plan to levy a carbon emissions tariff on the importation of goods that create environmental damage during their production.
After EU finance ministers met and agreed to kick off negotiations in Brussels, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said: "It's a major step forward in the fight against climate change."
The EU wants to introduce CO2 emissions costs on imports of steel, cement, fertilisers, aluminium and electricity, from 2026. This is a move aimed at protecting European industry from being undercut by cheaper goods made in countries with weaker environmental rules. A three-year transition phase for the levy would begin in 2023, and countries and the European parliament are anticipating to create the framework by summer that could give way to the final rules to be hammered out in the fall.
However, to reach this goal will it require huge investments from industry in green technologies like hydrogen and impose higher CO2 costs on polluters. The border levy aims to create a "level playing field" by imposing the same CO2 costs on EU companies and those abroad. There are concerns about industries fleeing for countries with lighter regulatory regimens. Even though, ministers have not yet decided how quickly the border levy should replace the free CO2 permits industries currently receive under the EU carbon market. The phasing out of those permits is contentious, and ministers said it would be negotiated in separate talks on EU carbon market reforms.
The levy is part of a package of EU climate change policies designed to cut the bloc's emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 from 1990 levels.
New sanctions arise against Russia: ban of luxury goods and energy investments
The European Union has expanded its already-long list of sanctions against Russia to heavily restrict the export of EU-made luxury goods towards the oil-rich country. The announcement comes as Moscow troops continue bombarding Ukrainian cities while officials engage in talks to end the weeks-long violence.
The luxury ban was first teased by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the end of a two-day informal summit in Versailles, calling it a "direct blow to the Russian elite". "Those who sustain Putin's war machine should no longer be able to enjoy their lavish lifestyle while bombs fall on innocent people in Ukraine," von der Leyen said on Friday.
The luxury ban targets a vast catalogue of products worth over €300 that includes, among other articles, clothing, footwear, leather, fashion accessories, pearls, jewellery, gold, silversmith, diamonds, suitcases, handbags, purses, wallets, wigs, skincare, perfumes, as well as works of art, antiques, cutlery, porcelain, china and fine pottery. Vehicles worth over €50,000 and musical instruments that exceed €1,500 fall equally under the ban.
The new sanctions also introduce a prohibition to conduct new investments in Russia's energy sector and to transfer EU-made equipment and technology used for energy exploration, but there's an exemption for nuclear energy and refined fossil fuels, like gas and oil. Russian steel imports worth over €3.3 billion are banned from the bloc and Russian companies are barred from hiring EU credit rating agencies.
"Let's also be honest. Putin is not going to be impressed that Russian upper class cannot buy Italian handbags anymore. That's not going to change the course of the war," Guntram Wolff, director of the Bruegel think tank, told Euronews. "What will impress him is if the West manages to effectively stop revenues from oil and gas." – he added.
Russia is now the most sanctioned nation in the world, having amassed over 5,000 different types of penalties, according to Castellum.Al database.
The EU warns against “too good to be true” cryptocurrencies
The EU’s three financial regulators published a checklist for hobby investors to study before buying cryptocurrencies that could leave them penniless. Crypto investors risk losing all their money invested in speculative, "too good to be true" assets and are at serious risk from fraudsters, the European Union's securities, banking and insurance watchdogs said in a joint statement on Thursday.
“Consumers face the very real possibility of losing all their invested money if they buy these assets,” said the statement from the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pension Authority (EIOPA). “Consumers should be particularly wary of promised fast or high returns, especially those that look too good to be true.”
The regulators’ warning took aim at celebrities who have made money from posting crypto ads on social media. Many posts emphasize outlandish gains that can come with cryptocurrencies but make little or no mention of the downsides: "Consumers should be alert to the risks of misleading advertisements, including via social media and influencers. Consumers should be particularly wary of promised fast or high returns, especially those that look too good to be true," the statement said.
The regulators’ six-point checklist encouraged would-be crypto investors to research the products and services that they would like to put their money into and check to see if the associated companies are blacklisted. People should also consider how much money they’re prepared to lose in these investments and consumers should also be aware that energy consumption for producing some crypto-assets is high and that this can have an environmental impact. Scammers have also sought to cheat people who are trying to donate funds with cryptocurrencies to Ukraine after Russia invaded the country.
EU legislators have yet to agree on consumer safeguards for the market in crypto assets. In the meantime, “consumers should be aware of the lack of recourse or protection available to them,” the warning said.