Cyprus joins Mediterranean four as EU rift deepens over IMO shipping rules

Cyprus has emerged as part of a four-country Mediterranean bloc pressing for changes to the proposed global shipping decarbonisation framework, as divisions between major maritime states and Brussels deepen ahead of crucial negotiations at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The disagreement has sharpened in recent weeks, with Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Malta raising concerns over the economic consequences of the proposed rules, particularly the cost of alternative fuels, emissions pricing and the competitiveness of European shipping. Newmoney reported on Friday, citing Euractiv, that the European Commission was pressing for a united EU position ahead of the next round of IMO negotiations, while Greece continued to resist the current approach. The report said Cyprus, Italy and Malta had also voiced reservations during European discussions, placing the four Mediterranean shipping countries increasingly on the same side of the argument. Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told Euractiv that European unity at the IMO was “imperative”, adding that the expectation was for the “European family” to be on the same page. He did not, however, say whether the Commission could take action against Greece if Athens were again to depart from the agreed EU line. Euractiv reported that Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Malta did not sign up to the final EU agreement reached in late August, while Greece has also been involved in discussions with the US Saudi Arabia and other countries over alternative approaches to the proposed framework. The disagreement centres on the IMO Net-Zero Framework, which would introduce a global marine fuel standard alongside a greenhouse gas emissions pricing mechanism. Under the current draft, ships would have to progressively reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of the energy they use, measured across the full fuel lifecycle from production to consumption. Ships exceeding the prescribed limits would have to compensate through surplus units or by purchasing so-called remedial units through the proposed IMO Net-Zero Fund. For the 2028-2030 reporting period, the draft framework sets the initial price of Tier 1 remedial units at $100 per tonne of CO2 equivalent, with Tier 2 units priced at $380 per tonne. Those figures remain part of a framework that is still under negotiation and could therefore change before adoption. The regulations would initially apply to ocean-going ships above 5,000 gross tonnage, which the IMO says account for more than 85 per cent of global shipping emissions. For shipowners, the consequences go well beyond environmental compliance. The eventual shape of the rules could influence which fuels ships use, the economics of LNG and other transition fuels, investment in zero and near-zero-emission technologies, fleet renewal and decisions over whether existing vessels should be upgraded or replaced. The issue has therefore become particularly important for Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Malta, whose shipping sectors leave them heavily exposed to changes in international maritime regulation. Only last week, the four countries formalised closer cooperation during a ministerial meeting in Limassol, where they signed a joint declaration committing themselves to closer coordination ahead of discussions at both EU and IMO level. The September 9 meeting brought together Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanolis, Greek Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Minister Vassilis Kikilias and Malta’s Sustainable Mobility Minister Chris Bonett, while Italian Deputy Infrastructure and Transport Minister Edoardo Rixi took part remotely. The four governments agreed to coordinate more closely on the competitiveness of European shipping and decarbonisation, creating a common platform ahead of the next major international negotiations. As previously reported, Hadjimanolis stressed after the meeting that the initiative was not intended to undermine EU unity, but said some maritime issues affected major shipping states more directly than others. She said the four countries were “ready to lead together this change”. Italy’s ambassador to Cyprus Antonella Cavallari said at the same meeting that the four countries together represented 75 per cent of the EU fleet, arguing that this gave them considerable collective weight when maritime rules were being discussed. Kikilias, meanwhile, linked the issue directly to the wider European economy, warning that decisions affecting shipping could ultimately feed through into energy, food and consumer prices. His ministry said ahead of the Limassol meeting that particular attention would be paid to the IMO decarbonisation negotiations and to the forthcoming revision of the EU Emissions Trading System for shipping. The Greek ministry said the four countries would seek closer coordination with the aim of safeguarding the competitiveness of European shipping. The four-country coordination has taken on added significance following the latest IMO negotiating round in London. The IMO’s latest working group on greenhouse gas emissions met from September 1 to 4, with nearly 1,200 participants, but several major questions remained unresolved. Delegates discussed proposals aimed at addressing concerns surrounding the draft amendments to Marpol Annex VI, but the group called for further consultations before the next meeting. Rather than producing agreed text for the Marine Environment Protection Committee, the group deferred further consideration of the outstanding proposals to its next session in November, when delegates will again attempt to narrow the differences surrounding the Net-Zero Framework. The treatment of different fuels is particularly important because LNG and other transition fuels have become one of the points of disagreement between countries involved in the talks. The wider IMO climate strategy calls for the uptake of zero or near-zero greenhouse gas fuels, technologies and energy sources to reach at least 5 per cent, striving for 10 per cent, of the energy used by international shipping by 2030, while pursuing net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from the sector by or around 2050. The Commission continues publicly to support that overall objective. Following the IMO’s MEPC 84 meeting in May, the European Commission said it remained firmly behind the goal of global shipping reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and would continue working with other parties towards an ambitious international framework. However, Euractiv reported this week that differences remain not only between member states, but also over how far the existing framework should be altered to win wider international support. A senior EU diplomat told the publication that negotiations could potentially slip into 2027, while Euractiv also reported differences within the Commission itself over how accommodating the EU should be towards LNG. The publication said the Commission’s transport department, DG MOVE, was pushing for what it described as a more “realistic” agreement, while DG CLIMA maintained that LNG should not be recognised as a clean fuel. The next negotiating window is now tightly packed. The ISWG-GHG 23 working group will meet from November 23 to 27, followed immediately by MEPC 85 from November 30 to December 3. The IMO’s extraordinary Marine Environment Protection Committee session, which was adjourned in October 2025 after governments failed to reach agreement on formal adoption of the framework, is scheduled to resume on December 4, subject to the outcome of MEPC 85. That leaves Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Malta only a matter of weeks to turn the political coordination agreed in Limassol into detailed negotiating positions. For Cyprus in particular, the debate is no longer simply about backing an international emissions target. It is increasingly about what the transition will cost, which fuels will qualify, how quickly shipowners will have to adapt and whether European shipping can absorb those costs without losing ground to competitors outside the EU.