CBAM: Council signs off simplification to the EU carbon leakage instrument 10:30 Carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM): Council and Parliament reach a provisional agreement[...]

The Council today adopted a regulation that simplifies and strengthens the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), as part of the so-called 'Omnibus I' legislative package.

The regulation seeks to provide simplification and cost-efficient compliance improvements to the CBAM. The main aim is to reduce the regulatory and administrative burden, as well as compliance costs for EU companies, especially SMEs. The climate ambition behind the CBAM remains unchanged, as about 99% of embedded emissions in the imported CBAM goods will remain covered.

Main elements of the regulation

Replacing the current threshold exempting from CBAM goods of negligible value, the amendments set a new 'de minimis' mass threshold whereby imports up to 50 tonnes per importer per year will not be subject to CBAM rules. The measure is expected to exempt from CBAM mainly SMEs and individuals, which import small or negligible quantities of goods covered by the CBAM regulation.

Another important modification is that the amended regulation will also permit to avoid any disruptions for importers in the beginning of 2026, while they await CBAM registration: imports of CBAM goods will be allowed under several conditions, pending CBAM registration of the importer.

Furthermore, the amended regulation contains several other simplification measures for all importers of CBAM goods regarding, for instance: the authorisation procedure, the data collection processes, the calculation of emissions, verification rules, and the financial liability calculation of authorised CBAM declarants. Finally, the amended regulation contains adjustments of provisions on penalties and on the rules regarding indirect customs representatives.

Next steps

The legislative act will be published in the EU's official journal in the coming days and will come into force on the third day following that of this publication.

Background

In October 2024, the European Council called on all EU institutions, member states and stakeholders, as a matter of priority, to take work forward, notably in response to the challenges identified in the reports by Enrico Letta ('Much more than a market') and Mario Draghi ('The future of European competitiveness'). The Budapest declaration of 8 November 2024 subsequently called for 'launching a simplification revolution', by ensuring a clear, simple and smart regulatory framework for businesses and drastically reducing administrative, regulatory and reporting burdens, in particular for SMEs. On 26 February 2025, as a follow-up to EU leaders' call, the Commission put forward two 'Omnibus' packages, aiming to simplify existing legislation in the fields of sustainability and investment, respectively.

• Regulation amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards simplifying and strengthening the carbon border adjustment mechanism, 29 September 2025
• Regulation on simplifying and strengthening the carbon border adjustment mechanism, Council press release, 18 June 2025
• Regulation amending regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards simplifying and strengthening the carbon adjustment mechanism, Commission proposal, 26 February 2025