site.btaBulgaria Should Back EU Carbon Market Reforms, CITUB President Dimitrov Says

Bulgaria should back calls to the European Commission to reform the EU carbon emissions market, which EU leaders will present on March 19, CITUB President Plamen Dimitrov said Monday in Stara Zagora. Dimitrov, who was speaking at a forum presenting a study on employment in coal regions and the training and reskilling needs of those indirectly affected by the green transition, said a potential reform of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) is crucial for the future of the state-owned Maritsa-East mining complex and Bulgaria’s coal industry. 

“Under pressure from both internal and external circumstances, Europe – or at least the major states – seems to be waking up and setting a different agenda,” Dimitrov said. He highlighted that ten EU member states, including France, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Poland, have proposed changes in industrial policy and the carbon trading scheme.

“The reform aims not only to reduce prices but also to control the movement of quota prices within a defined corridor, with minimum and maximum limits,” Dimitrov added, saying it could reduce market cumulativity and give coal-fired power plants a chance.

The CITUB President called on Bulgaria to take a clear position at the European level. “The Parliament could, as early as tomorrow, require the caretaker Prime Minister to attend the European Council, since it is unclear if high-level representatives will be present,” he said.

The forum also presented results from a project “Mapping the skills of indirectly affected persons in the areas most affected by the climate transition” implemented under the EU-funded Regional Development Programme by the Labour and Social Policy Ministry in partnership with the National Statistical Institute, CITUB, and the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour.

At the March 19 summit, EU leaders are expected to ask Brussels to review the ETS by July 2026 to reduce price volatility and mitigate its impact on electricity prices, according to a draft of the conclusions seen by Reuters. The document emphasizes that the reform should maintain the system’s central role in the EU energy transition, despite calls from some countries, including Slovakia and Czechia, to weaken or temporarily suspend it to lower energy costs.

The European Commission has already announced plans to propose an ETS reform in the third quarter of 2026, without specifying a date.