Changes from plenary report to adopted text

Amendment: 5. By 30 June 2028, the Commission shall present a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the expenditure financed by the Fund covering the applications received, the sectors and installations concerned, the level of demand for support, and an assessment of whether the available appropriations are sufficient to meet that demand.

Article 6 – paragraph 2: 2. The operator of an installation producing goods not listed in the Annex or downstream operator producing such goods, which have a low ratio of value to weight and are subject to a heightened remaining risk of carbon leakage at national level as defined in the delegated act adopted in accordance with paragraph 3, shall, upon decision of the Commission following a reasoned request of a Member State, be eligible to receive financial support in accordance with Article 9 and be subject to the conditions set out in Article 7.

Article 6 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. A downstream operator that produces eligible goods listed in the Annex to this Regulation, which fall under the Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes set out in Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, shall be eligible to receive financial support pursuant to Article 9 of this Regulation and subject to the conditions set out in Article 7 of this Regulation, provided that it demonstrates the following: / (a) the downstream operator has incurred significant additional carbon-related costs passed through from operators under Directive 2003/87/EC or Regulation (EU) 2023/956 in respect of such goods; and / (b) a substantial proportion of the downstream operator’s output of those goods is exported to third-country markets or supplied to exporters of such goods.

Article 6 – paragraph 2 b (new): 2b. An operator and a downstream operator that produces eligible goods listed in the Annex, shall not be eligible to receive financial support pursuant to Article 9 when: / (a) the operator or downstream operator concerned, following verification by the relevant national competent authority, or respectively, the Commission, is in breach of relevant working and employment conditions and employer obligations resulting from Union or national labour laws, or applicable collective agreements according to national rules and practices; or / (b) the operator and downstream operator concerned, or the parent company, are not established in jurisdictions listed in the Union list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.

Article 6 – paragraph 3: 3. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 14 to supplement this Regulation by establishing the indicators determining the heightened remaining risk of carbon leakage provided for in paragraph 2 and a list of goods determined on the basis of that indicator, including downstream goods not listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2023/956, the conditions that the producers of such goods need to fulfil to receive financial support, in addition to the ones set out in Article 7.

Article 7 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Where an operator is subject to the obligation to conduct an energy audit as a stand-alone energy audit or within the framework of a certified Energy Management System or Environmental Management System, the operator shall receive financial support from the Fund provided that the operator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Commission that one of the following conditions is fulfilled:

Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point c: (c) the cost of implementing the recommendations referred to in (a) is disproportionate and the operator demonstrates a legal commitment within the meaning of Article 3d of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1842 for investments implementing other measures which will lead to verifiable greenhouse gas emission reductions equivalent to those recommended by the audit report or by the certified Energy Management System for the installation concerned.

Article 7 – paragraph 3: 3. Alternatively to paragraphs 1, and 2, an operator shall receive financial support from the Fund provided that the operator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Commission, that it has made a legal commitment within the meaning of Article 3d of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1842 made for investments to achieve the targets and milestones referred to in a climate neutrality plan and which is at least equivalent to the support amount applied for under this Regulation.

Article 7 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. A downstream operator shall receive financial support from the Fund provided that the downstream operator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Commission that it has undertaken actions leading to a verifiable and significant reduction in the use of the goods listed in Annexes I and II, or investments that lead to a lower-carbon method in their relevant production processes to use those goods or investments in their relevant supply chains leading to the use by that operator of lower-carbon versions of those goods.

Article 7 – paragraph 3 b (new): 3b. Operators and downstream operators shall receive financial support from the Fund provided that they demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Commission that: / (a) they have a legal commitment to use or source, where available, half of their equipment, supplies and materials, or their components, from the Union’s territory, for investments supported by the Fund; / (b) they do not to use the financial support of the Fund for dividend payouts, in excess of expected returns, share buybacks or executive bonuses over the period of 2026-2027.

Article 7 – paragraph 3 c (new): 3c. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, determine standardised indicators and templates for operators and downstream operators to demonstrate compliance with the conditionality requirements set out in Article 7, including, inter alia, indicators relevant for downstream operators at the level of input reduction and use of lower carbon footprint material. This shall include simplified indicators and templates proportionate to small- and medium sized enterprises and shall take into account the specific case of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Article 8 – paragraph 1: 1. The operator of an installation producing goods that are eligible for financial support or downstream operator producing such goods, may submit to the Commission: / (a) a single application by 31 March 2028 that covers the production reference period 2026-2027; or / (b) an application by 31 March 2027 that covers the production reference period 2026 and a supplementary application by 31 March 2028 that covers the production reference period 2027.

Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point a: (a) for all operators, a production and export data report complementing the verified activity level reports for the relevant production reference period covered by the application submitted pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article submitted pursuant to Article 3 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1842, providing the necessary production data and data on the share of production sold in third countries, broken down by country of export, to verify the eligibility for financial support;

Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new): (aa) for all operators, if applicable, a tax transparency report and an ownership structure disclosure providing evidence that the operator and its parent company are not established in jurisdictions listed in the Union list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes;

Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point a b (new): (ab) for all operators, documentation providing evidence that investments in Article 7(1), (2) and (3) are in accordance with Section 5 of the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF);

Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point b – point ii a (new): (iia) a technical decarbonisation plan and a certified project impact assessment demonstrating that the intended investments lead to verifiable emission reductions.

Article 8 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. For downstream operators, an application submitted pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be accompanied by the following specific elements: / (a) production data for the production reference period covered by the call for application referred to in paragraph 1 to verify the eligibility for financial support; / (b) the share of production sold in third countries broken down by country of export; / (c) if applicable, a tax transparency report and an ownership structure disclosure providing evidence that the operator and its parent company are not established in jurisdictions listed in the Union list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.

Article 8 – paragraph 5: 5. By 30 June 2027 and 30 June 2028, the Commission shall establish a list identifying all the applicants that applied for support by 31 March 2027 and 31 March 2028, respectively, that meet the conditions as determined in accordance with paragraph 4, their respective installations and the level of support calculated in accordance with Article 9.

Article 9 – paragraph 1: 1. The Commission shall assess and calculate the amount of financial support to be provided to eligible operators, for the production of each of the exported goods listed in the Annex, based on the amount of free allocation phased out, in a transparent manner. That amount of allowances shall be calculated in accordance with Article 16(8) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/331 and take into account the Decision the Commission has adopted in accordance with Article 23(4) of that Regulation. To obtain the financial value of the support, the amount of free allowances shall be adjusted to the share of production (in volume) of goods listed in the Annex that has been exported to third-country markets, and multiplied with the annual average of the closing prices of EU ETS allowances on the common auction platform for the reference period for which an application for support has been submitted in accordance with Article 8(1) of this Regulation and in accordance with the procedures laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2830.

Article 9 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. The Commission shall assess and calculate the amount of financial support to be provided to eligible downstream operators for the production of each exported good listed in the Annex, based on: / (a) the volume of those goods exported; / (b) the CO2 content of the CBAM-covered inputs or precursors used to produce those goods; and / (c) the annual average price of CBAM certificates for the reference period, as calculated pursuant to Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 2023/956 and the implementing acts adopted pursuant to paragraph 1b of this Article, taking into account the adjustment necessary to reflect the extent to which EU ETS allowances are allocated free of charge in accordance with Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2023/956.

Article 9 – paragraph 1 b (new): 1b. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, specify the methodology for determining the CO2 content of inputs, the annual average price of CBAM certificates calculated as the weekly average prices of CBAM certificates published pursuant to Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 2023/956, and the parameters used for that calculation.

Article 9 – paragraph 1 c (new): 1c. Pursuant to paragraphs 1, 1a and 1b, when calculating the level of financial support, the Commission shall take into account, to the extent possible, the competitiveness risk faced by the goods in the country destination due to differences in carbon-pricing schemes and equivalent regulatory constraints on industrial emissions between that destination and the Union, notably by establishing a methodology based on public and objective indicators.

Article 10 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Upon establishing the list referred to in Article 8(5), the Commission shall perform the following actions:

Article 10 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) assess the inclusion of each operator, installation and downstream operator in the list;

Article 10 – paragraph 3: 3. Based on its assessment in accordance with paragraph 1, the Commission shall adopt an implementing decision by 31 December 2027 for the lists received by 30 June 2027 and by 31 December 2028 for the lists received by 30 June 2028 on the financial support to the operators, including downstream operators, upon availability of the resources of the Fund. That decision shall constitute a financing decision within the meaning of Article 110 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. The notification of that decision to the competent authority concerned shall constitute an individual legal commitment within the meaning of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

Article 10 – paragraph 4: 4. The decision referred to in paragraph 3 shall be publicly available and set out the total amount to be transferred to the respective Member State, the list of the final beneficiaries of financial support and the amount for each recipient, and information on how the beneficiaries meet the conditions set out in Article 7.

Article 11 – paragraph 1: 1. Within one month following the adoption of the decision referred to in Article 10(3), the Commission shall disburse the total amount set out in that decision to the relevant competent authorities. By derogation from Article 196(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, the Commission may also pay support with respect to investments and productions even if already completed.

Article 11 – paragraph 2: 2. Within one month upon receipt of the funding from the Commission and at the latest on 31 March 2028 for the implementing decisions referred to in Article 10(3) adopted by 31 December 2027 and on 31 March 2029 for the implementing decisions referred to in Article 10(3) adopted by 31 December 2028, the relevant competent authorities shall disburse the financial support awarded by the Commission under the decisions referred to in Article 10(3) to the final beneficiaries and shall inform the Commission immediately after the disbursements are made.

Article 12 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States, as beneficiaries of funds under the Fund, and relevant competent authorities shall take all the appropriate measures to protect the financial interests of the Union and to ensure that the use of the financial allocations complies with applicable Union and national law, in particular regarding the prevention, detection and tackling of fraud, corruption, conflicts of interests and all other irregularities affecting the financial interests of the Union. To that effect, Member States shall take any necessary measures to prevent wrongful payouts and for the recovery of amounts wrongly paid. Member States shall rely on their national budget management, control and recovery systems.