Why did Poland change its mind and support the compromise on the ECJ?

EU countries accepted the compromise proposed by the Irish Presidency, which states that by 2030, allowances above 400 million will no longer disappear irretrievably, and after 2030, up to 800 million allowances can be kept in reserve. This will be a kind of buffer in case of a shortage in the market. These allowances will be available on the market if prices increase. Only those above this level will be deleted.

Poland supported the compromise, although it long defended the EC's proposal to completely eliminate deletion. As an RMF FM correspondent heard, "we are losing every day."

Under the current mechanism, approximately 16 million allowances disappear each month (their estimated value at the current price is approximately EUR 1.4 billion). Warsaw decided to support the Irish Presidency's compromise to stop further deletions and keep the powers as a buffer for the future.

Germany proposed that the limit of 800 million allowances be reduced by 4 percent every year. However, as the Brussels correspondent of RMF FM found out, such a provision is ultimately not included in the compromise legal text.

Further changes to the ETS system are planned

Poland decided that it was better to accept a compromise than to continue waiting until further rights disappear irrevocably. As an anonymous EU diplomat told an RMF FM journalist, "today it was only about liquidation and stopping it." More profound changes to the operation of the reserve are expected to appear during a major revision of the ETS.