Overview
- On Monday the European Commission recommended that member states suspend fines for breaches of the Methane Regulation for three years while formally keeping the regulation and its 2027 start date in place.
- The Commission said importers must still follow monitoring, reporting and verification rules and that deliberate fraud or intentional breaches remain subject to national sanctions.
- Brussels noted that only three EU countries have so far transposed the Methane Regulation into national law, leaving enforcement powers and timing dependent on member-state action.
- The recommendation clarifies which compliance procedures importers may use, citing measurement and verification methods already used in the United States to demonstrate emissions control.
- The proposal has prompted political splits in member states, gives importers more time to secure supplies, and could slow near-term cuts in methane intensity unless national authorities adopt and enforce the guidance.