EU Energy Tax Bill Fails to Progress as Divisions Remain (2)

EU finance ministers failed to move the bloc’s proposed overhaul of its energy tax regime forward, with major divisions still blocking the bill, known as the Energy Tax Directive.

Several countries clashed in a public meeting Tuesday in Brussels over how aviation and maritime fuels are treated in the ETD, which has been a major sticking point in the bill’s progression.

The finance ministers of France, Belgium and the Netherlands lamented that the bill was watered down, particularly with the exemptions for aviation and maritime fuel.

Wopke Hoekstra, the commissioner for tax who also attended the meeting, agreed. He ...