The Polish Senate's European Union Affairs Committee (EUAC) has rejected the European Commission's proposal for a Regulation establishing the Temporary Decarbonisation Fund (COM(2025)990), adopted at its meeting of 9 June 2026. The committee argues the Fund is not an efficient or effective means to support the EU economy in decarbonisation, pointing to its temporary and short-term nature, limited funding, lack of transparent criteria for awarding support, and excessive administrative burden on Member States with limited influence over the Fund's functioning. It also objects to the allocation to the Fund of resources that were to be at Member States' disposal for Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) tasks.
The EUAC recognises the need to support decarbonisation due to rising energy costs and geopolitical pressures, and expresses concern over EU Member States' competitiveness in global industrial and agricultural markets. However, it considers the Fund's design inadequate to address these challenges effectively.
The proposal, published by the European Commission on 23 June 2026, aims to provide temporary financial support to EU industries and farmers to help them decarbonise in the context of the EU's climate goals. The Fund is intended to be a short-term instrument, but the Polish Senate committee argues that its temporary nature and limited funding undermine its potential impact. The lack of transparent criteria for awarding support and the high administrative burden on Member States are also cited as major shortcomings.
The committee's opinion is a reasoned opinion under Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, signalling that the Polish Senate considers the proposal may not comply with these principles. The opinion will be forwarded to the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council for consideration.
EU producers and farmers could face reduced access to decarbonisation support if the Fund is not adopted or is redesigned, potentially slowing their transition. National authorities of EU countries would bear the administrative burden of implementing the Fund, which the Polish committee criticises as excessive. EU taxpayers would contribute to the Fund, but its effectiveness is questioned. The diversion of CBAM resources could weaken Member States' capacity to manage the carbon border mechanism, affecting trade competitiveness.