Date: 16-Jan-2025Category: Not ApplicableState: Union GovernmentCountry: Europe
Council Decision (EU) 2025/93 of 10 January 2025 on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the written procedure by the Participants to the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits as regards the adoption of a decision on amendments to that Arrangement
Council Decision (EU) 2025/93 concerns the European Union's position regarding amendments to the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits. The decision authorizes the EU to support a decision by the Participants to the Arrangement to introduce a new article and amend Article 6, with the aim of further strengthening the terms and conditions to address climate change.
Key Changes
The decision addresses the provision of export credit or tied aid support to coal-fired electricity generation plants.
Article 6 of the Arrangement currently bans export credit or tied aid support to coal-fired electricity generation plants without effective carbon capture and storage, except for pollution reduction equipment that does not extend the plant's life.
The Participants to the Arrangement were to review Article 6 by December 31, 2022, to strengthen its terms for addressing climate change.
The envisaged decision includes requiring the OECD Secretariat to prepare an annual public report on transactions in the energy sector.
The Council announced on March 15, 2022, the intention of Member States to determine science-based deadlines for ending officially supported export credits to fossil fuel energy sector projects by the end of 2023, with limited exceptions consistent with a 1.5°C warming limit and the Paris Agreement goals.
Impact Analysis
Stakeholders
Export Credit Agencies: These agencies will need to adapt their policies to align with the amended Arrangement and the EU's position.
Suggested Action Items
OECD Secretariat: Prepare to produce the annual public report on energy sector transactions as required by the amended Arrangement.
Key Entities Referenced
European Union: A political and economic union of member states located primarily in Europe.
Council of the European Union: A body composed of government ministers from each EU member state that negotiates and adopts laws.
European Commission: An institution of the EU, responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, and managing the EU's budget.
European Parliament: The directly elected parliamentary body of the European Union.
OECD: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international organisation that works to build better policies for better lives.
Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits: A set of guidelines developed within the OECD framework, governing the provision of officially supported export credits.
Regulation (EU) No 1233/2011: A regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the application of certain guidelines in the field of officially supported export credits.
Paris Agreement: An international agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance.
Official Journal EN
of the European Union L series
2025/93 16.1.2025
COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2025/93
of 10 January 2025
on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the written procedure by the
Participants to the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits as regards the adoption of
a decision on amendments to that Arrangement
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 207(4), first subparagraph,
in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
Whereas:
(1) The guidelines contained in the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits (the ‘Arrangement’), developed
within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), have been
transposed and thus been made legally binding in the Union by virtue of Regulation (EU) No 1233/2011 of the
European Parliament and of the Council (1).
(2) Article 6 of the Arrangement currently bans the provision of any export credit or tied aid support to coal-fired
electricity generation plants that do not have effective carbon capture and storage, except where the export credit or
tied aid support is used to provide equipment to reduce pollution, which does not extend the useful lifetime of such
a plant.
(3) In accordance with Article 6 of the Arrangement, the Participants to the Arrangement (the ‘Participants’) were to
review it by 31 December 2022 with a view to further strengthening its terms and conditions in order to contribute
to the common goal of addressing climate change.
(4) In its conclusions of 15 March 2022, the Council announced the intention by the Member States to determine by the
end of 2023 in their national policies their own science-based deadlines for ending officially supported export
credits to fossil fuel energy sector projects, except in limited and clearly defined circumstances that are consistent
with a 1,5 oC warming limit and the goals of the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (2).
(5) The Participants have agreed to adopt in a written procedure a decision introducing one new article and amending
Article 6. The envisaged decision would require the OECD Secretariat to prepare a public report on transactions in
the energy sector annually.
(6) It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf regarding the decision of the Participants
on amendments to the Arrangement, as that decision will be binding on the Union and will be capable of decisively
influencing the content of Union law, by virtue of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1233/2011.
(7) The position of the Union should therefore be to support the decision on amendments to the Arrangement based on
the draft text attached to this Decision,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the written procedure by the Participants to the Arrangement on Officially
Supported Export Credits (the ‘Arrangement’) as regards the adoption of a decision on amendments to the Arrangement
shall be to support that decision based on the draft text attached to this Decision (3).
(1) Regulation (EU) No 1233/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2011 on the application of certain
guidelines in the field of officially supported export credits and repealing Council Decisions 2001/76/EC and 2001/77/EC (OJ L 326,
8.12.2011, p. 45, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/1233/oj).
(2) OJ L 282, 19.10.2016, p. 4.
(3) See document ST 16807/24 ADD 1 on http://register.consilium.europa.eu.
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2025/93/oj 1/2EN
OJ L, 16.1.2025
Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.
Done at Brussels, 10 January 2025.
For the Council
The President
A. SZŁAPKA
2/2 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2025/93/oj