COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION:ENERGY TAXATION DISCUSSED BY EU FINANCE MINISTERS IN HELSINKI

ENERGY TAXATION DISCUSSED BY EU FINANCE MINISTERS IN HELSINKI

EU2019FIMinistry of Finance14.9.201912.42

Photo: Lauri Heikkinen / Prime Minister's Office

On the second day of the Informal Meeting of Ministers for Economic and Financial Affairs (Ecofin), Saturday 14 September, the ministers discussed energy taxation and also EU fiscal rules.

The meeting was chaired by Finland’s Minister of Finance Mika Lintilä.

Energy taxation in support of climate action

On the first day of their meeting, the EU member states’ finance ministers had discussed how action on climate change could be taken forward within their sphere of responsibilities. On Saturday 14 September, the second day of the meeting, the discussion on climate action continued when ministers discussed energy taxation. The European Commission has just published its evaluation of the Energy Taxation Directive.

The main themes that emerged in the discussions were competitiveness, climate change mitigation and the extent to which energy taxation is generally socially acceptable.

“We all agreed that energy taxation can be used to further the achievement of climate and energy objectives. I’m confident the outcome of our discussion will be taken into account if the decision is made to revise the Energy Taxation Directive,” said Minister Lintilä.

During its Presidency of the Council, Finland is stressing the need for the EU to raise its profile as a global leader in climate action. The aim is to establish a long-term climate strategy for the EU that will enable it to become carbon neutral by 2050.

Inquiries

Martti Salmi, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Finance, tel. +358 400 510 304, martti.salmi(at)vm.fi
Niina Nurkkala, Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance, tel. +358 50 347 2661, niina.nurkkala(at)vm.fi
Tommi Tolkki, Communications Specialist (requests for interviews), Ministry of Finance, tel. +358 2955 30269 (Presidency media service), press(at)vm.fi

Meeting agenda and discussion papers 
EU2019FI backgrounder: Energy taxation in support of climate action EU finance ministers: Closer attention must be given to hybrid threats (Press release 13 September 2019)