Twelve European Union countries are asking the European Commission to preserve and expand a key fund for lower-income countries investing in the energy transition beyond 2030, arguing that without it, the bloc's economic competitiveness and energy security may slow down.
In a letter addressed to Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra and seen by Euronews, Croatia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia argue that the Modernisation Fund remains a crucial instrument for EU countries facing substantial investment needs in the transition to cleaner energy systems.
The Modernisation Fund has been financing several EU countries since January 2021, drawing its revenues entirely from auctioning 2 percent to 4.5 percent of the bloc's carbon market, the Emissions Trading System (ETS). It has mobilised over €57 billion for the 2021–2030 period and it is meant to be terminated by 2030.
But with increasing geopolitical stability driving up energy prices, the 12 countries historically dependent on imported fossil fuels argue it's too early to consider ending such EU funding.
"We call for the continuation and strengthening of the Modernisation Fund beyond 2030 (and) for a significant increase in the scale of financing, aligned with the growing challenges of the transition," reads the letter, which was sent in anticipation of an ETS revision slated for 15 July.
