The plan was launched in March 2007, and after months of tough negotiations between the member countries, it was adopted by the European Parliament in December 2008.
10 January 2007: The European Commission presented a series of proposals setting ambitious targets of greenhouse gases reduction.
[1] 8–9 March 2007: The European Council approved of the objectives of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases presented by the commission on 10 January 2007.
After the Kyoto Protocol, signed in 1997 by most European countries but expiring in 2012, a new international agreement to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases was to be negotiated at Poznan (Poland) and in Copenhagen in 2009.
Above all, several countries were concerned about the supposed consequences of the auctioning of all emissions of greenhouse gases on electricity prices, on the one hand, and above all on the competitiveness of the most polluting industrial companies.
Poland and the Baltic States also claimed that the package would force them to develop their gas imports from Russia to reduce their GHG emissions, limiting their energy independence.
In late October, the Prime Ministers of Poland, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania agreed to establish a plan of energy interconnection.
On the other hand, member states disputed on how to avoid the outsourcings of the most polluting industries, subject to competition of rivals from countries with little involvement in the fight against global warming.