EU leaders spent two days debating the bloc's carbon market at a Brussels summit, with Finland, Denmark and Sweden defending the Emissions Trading System against calls from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Italy and Greece to soften it. The dispute centers on whether carbon costs are making European industry uncompetitive while energy prices are high. The Visegrad group plus Italy and Greece also tried to delay the ETS2, the carbon market for road transport and buildings fuels, until 2030. That push failed to gain unanimous support, but the countries did secure a Commission impact assessment on the scheme's design and safeguards. Supporters argue weakening the ETS would break the price signal that drives clean investment. Critics say the current system punishes manufacturers and households. The next test is the summer review and work on the Market Stability Reserve.
