Source: European Parliament
22.10.2025
Question for written answer E-004174/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Anna Maria Cisint (PfE), Susanna Ceccardi (PfE), Silvia Sardone (PfE), Isabella Tovaglieri (PfE), Roberto Vannacci (PfE)
The 2024 expansion of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) to include the maritime sector – which will face full compliance as of 2026 – has resulted in major economic and structural disruption for the EU’s port system and maritime industry. In the absence of a worldwide emissions trading system under the International Maritime Organisation (negotiations for which are on hold because of US opposition), the EU’s ETS is an isolated and disproportionate instrument which undermines the competitiveness of Europe’s ports and the sustainability of the maritime routes connecting its islands to the mainland. The 300-mile rule and other corrective measures included in the ETS Directive are ineffective, while the Commission’s monitoring work fails to predict potential risks.
Transhipment ports like Gioia Tauro are losing traffic to non-EU ports, and there is also a risk that Ro-Ro (Roll-On/Roll-Off) and Ro-Pax (Roll-On/Roll-Off Passenger) services to the EU’s biggest islands could cease to be economically viable. Moreover, instead of being reinvested in the maritime sector to support the energy transition, ETS proceeds are overwhelmingly set aside for national budgets or treated as EU own resources.
In the light of the above:
- 1.Will the Commission propose corrective measures to the ETS Directive to support the competitiveness of European ports and the viability of island routes?
- 2.How will the Commission ensure that all ETS resources are allocated to the maritime sector?
- 3.Does the Commission not agree that it must suspend or curtail the extension of the ETS to the maritime sector until a global IMO scheme is adopted?
Submitted: 22.10.2025