Forthcoming environmental taxation, commonly known as ‘green taxes’, are “very difficult to cancel” in their entirety despite efforts in Europe to water them down, according to reports on Friday.

The Cyprus News Agency quoted a source as saying that discussions are taking place between the Cypriot government and the European Commission with the aim of bringing about “some small improvements” to the plans.

However, the source said, because the implementation of green taxes is “considered a reform” by the European Commission, it is “very difficult to cancel”.

They pointed out that Cyprus had formally agreed to implement green taxes during the time of the previous government, led by Nicos Anastasiades, and that the initial agreement foresaw that they would be implemented in November 2022.

The European Commission has given Cyprus two extensions since then.

“Discussions have been taking place with Brussels for some time. We have achieved some things and there is a final attempt to gain something more,” the source said.

The source added that the Cypriot government has “achieved various goals to date”, including exempting fuel used for industry from green taxes and securing the extensions on the deadline for their implementation.

“The various tax rates were significantly reduced” from their initially planned rates.

President Nikos Christodoulides had on Thursday hinted at a possible postponement of green taxes, saying their postponement could be brought about with the aim of boosting Europe’s “competitiveness”.

He said European leaders need to “look at” some of the planned measures, which had been the products of “decisions which we took in the past, when the facts were different”.

If all the planned green taxes are implemented now, he added, they would “affect the EU’s competitiveness even more”.

“So, we need to revisit these decisions. Maybe we will postpone them for a later date. Right now, the implementation of the decisions which were taken when the facts were different will affect the EU’s competitiveness, and I understand that we do not want to suffer any more,” he said.

The European Commission said the green taxes “can help us to reach our environmental policy goals by encouraging a switch to cleaner energy, more sustainable industry and greener habits”.

“By setting a price for social costs, altering decision-making and incentivising behavioural changes by companies and people, this action can help mitigate resource waste and damage to the environment,” it said.

It added that green taxation “can also help promote sustainable growth, support intergenerational fairness and maintain tax revenue levels for EU member states while allowing them to cut other, more distortive, taxes such as those on labour”.