The Greek government is working on a proposal with the United States and Saudi Arabia to curb CO2 emissions from shipping, bypassing EU coordination on the issue.

The proposal is under discussion at the London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO). Athens is abandoning a joint EU position on global shipping decarbonisation, which is currently frozen at the IMO.

“Greece and Saudi Arabia have agreed to cooperate, through their competent ministries – shipping and energy – with a view to submitting a joint proposal on this specific matter,” Greek Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou said on Thursday, following a meeting in Riyadh with his Saudi counterpart, Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud.

Athens is providing a “voice of realism” on energy issues in Europe, Papastavrou added.

The move is expected to raise eyebrows in Brussels. That’s because individual EU countries are expected to seek agreement with the remaining 26 rather than cooperate with third countries on a matter over which the European Commission holds exclusive competence.

It is already the second time Athens, home to much of the global shipping industry, has broken the bloc’s ranks after Greece, alongside Cyprus, abstained during an October vote in London on a global net-zero shipping deal.

At the centre of the debate is the Net-Zero Shipping Framework (NSF), which would force ship operators continuing to use the dirtiest – and cheapest – fuels to pay a gradually increasing carbon price, proportionate to their excess CO2 emissions.

In practice, the framework would prioritise low-carbon alternatives such as hydrogen and synthetic e-fuels derived from renewable energy, favouring countries such as Denmark and China, which have invested heavily in these technologies.

However, agreement on the proposal was postponed for a year last October following opposition from Washington and Riyadh. The US administration even threatened sanctions if the deal went ahead, as Washington supports liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a transitional fuel.

The diplomatic row last October was widely seen as another instance of Europe being caught in a broader geopolitical tug-of-war between Washington and Beijing. Denmark, which opposed the US line, appears to have paid a price, having failed for the first time in late November to secure re-election to the IMO Council.

Breaking the bloc

Following the chaotic October meeting, the European Commission told Euractiv that it was open to renegotiating the net-zero shipping deal. Now Greece appears to have renegotiated the deal with Washington and Riyadh, not Brussels.

But Greece’s position could trigger an infringement procedure within the EU.

One EU diplomat noted that only the EU as a whole can table a common position at the IMO, and that in the event of internal disagreement, the bloc simply has no official position.

“Member states do not align themselves with third-country camps,” the diplomat added.