An Irish MEP wants potential revenues from an expanded Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to be channelled into support for farmers hit by soaring fertiliser costs.

The Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan said today (Wednesday, July 8) that the proposed new rules to extend CBAM beyond basic raw materials, to cover a wider range of finished products, could also create a more level playing field.

The MEP said that products imported into the EU should "have to abide by the same polluter pays rules as EU products do".

She believes that the expanded CBAM can be "a strong tool for the EU to help ensure big businesses inside and outside the EU will make less polluting decisions".

Boylan is the lead negotiator for the European Parliament's International Trade Committee (INTA) on CBAM.

CBAM

MEPs yesterday (Tuesday, July 7) voted to strengthen the EU’s CBAM and "close loopholes".

They also want financial support from the related temporary decarbonisation fund to run from 2027 to 2029 and not only from 2028 as proposed by the European Commission.

Environment Committee MEPs said that as fertilisers are "a strategic input for food security" they also want to open the fund to fertiliser producers and downstream users facing higher carbon-related input costs - with products such as urea, ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulphate added to the list of eligible goods.

But according to Copa Cogeca the vote by MEPs has left farmers "fully exposed to the additional costs generated" by the CBAM.

The umbrella organisation representing EU farmers and agri-cooperatives said the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI) has removed the "only crisis safety valve for farmers".

Fertiliser

The European Parliament has also adopted measures designed to alleviate the impact on farmers of rising fertiliser prices.

MEPs have voted for new measures to provide farmers with financial support and faster access to more direct payments from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The parliament voted under its urgent procedure to adopt the changes to the CAP rules as proposed by the European Commission.

MEPs decided to fast-track the changes to the CAP to ensure farmers get aid in time to buy fertilisers for the next growing season, the parliament said.

The European Commission last month revealed details of a major support package to help farmers battling the fertiliser crisis, with a potential new €1.5 billion in financial aid.