Sarkozy, Berlusconi jointly call for carbon tax on EU borders

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday called for the implementation of a carbon tax on European Union borders in a joint letter to Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission.

"It is unacceptable that the already ambitious efforts we made in the European Union to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases in accordance with what had been decided at the European Council in December 2008 were undermined by carbon ejection resulted from the absence or inadequate action of certain countries," the two leaders said in the letter.

Accordingly, Sarkozy and Berlusconi deemed it "essential" to establish "a mechanism of adjustment on European Union borders," urging for the EU-wide adoption of a carbon tax.

"We would indeed prevent the risk of carbon ejection by encouraging countries to adopt measures to reduce their emissions, " they said in the letter and pledged to punish uncooperative nations.

"Thus, every country would know that if it refuses to make commitments in sectors adequately concerned, its products would face a recompense equivalent to the effort made by the European Union," they added.

Sarkozy sees the carbon tax as one pillar policy in environmental commitments and government budget reforms, and has called over the past several months for its EU-wide adoption.

So far, Denmark, Finland and Sweden have already levied tax on carbon emissions, but several other European countries, including Germany and Britain, remain opposed to the tax, deeming it protectionism.

The EU commission has argued that different ways of taxing carbon emissions across member states were "problematic" as it may harm the "efficiency and competitiveness effects in a single market."

The French government announced in March to draw back from the efforts to internally implement the tax after a defeat in regional election, as the carbon tax has been long criticized by domestic industries and households.

Source: Xinhua