OpenLobby.EU
Explore

iEthanol, the European Industrial and Beverage Ethanol Association

iEthanol

iEthanol, the European Industrial & Beverage Ethanol Association, is a Brussels-based trade association representing the European producers of ethanol being used in industrial and beverage sectors, being produced by fermentation and/or by hydration of ethylene (i.e., synthetic).

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Benoit Cassart (Member of the European Parliament)

12 Jun 2025 · IEthanol

Meeting with Maroš Šefčovič (Commissioner) and

13 Mar 2025 · Negotiations with Ukraine under Article 29 of the Association Agreement (tariff liberalisation) – Position of European agricultural stakeholders (sugar, poultry, eggs, ethanol, maize, wheat and honey)

Meeting with Christophe Hansen (Commissioner) and

13 Feb 2025 · Review of the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA)

Response to Further reciprocal tariff liberalisation under Art. 29 of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement

5 Sept 2024

The DCFTA opened the EU market for ethanol to Ukraine by granting a 200,000 tonnes exempt of custom duties quota per year. iEthanol opposes to any further tariff reduction or tariff elimination with Ukraine for non-fuel ethanol in the context of the implementation of Article 29 of the DCFTA. Ethanol should also be granted a special treatment in the accession negotiations with Ukraine, avoiding a full access to the EU market. To support our position, we would like to bring to the attention of the European Commission the following arguments: 1. Ukraine is one of the largest agricultural producers in the world and has plenty of cheaply available feedstock to become a massive ethanol exporter. It is also not a fair player, often engaging in ethanol fraud. Since the temporary removal of all tariffs in 2022, imports, although below the quota, have increased massively year by year. This shows that Ukrainian producers are willing to invest in expanding their production capacity when they know that they can export over the 200,000 tonnes allocated quota. In 2023 Ukraine exported over 60,000 tonnes of ethanol to the EU, an increase of 300%. 2. The EU non-fuel ethanol industry is already harmed by high costs of production and large imports from 3rd countries with low production costs and lax environmental standards. Our producers are forced to sell at below their new production costs, prices having decreased significantly between 2022-2024. In March 2024, the industry asked the Commission to apply GSP safeguards on ethanol imports from Pakistan which have caused serious disturbance to the EU market. 3. The EU non-fuel ethanol market is considerably smaller compared to the fuel ethanol market and registered almost no growth in the past ten years. The EU ethanol market is today composed of 74% fuel ethanol (5,1 million tonnes) and 26% non-fuel ethanol (1,8 million tonnes). This makes the non-fuel ethanol market about 2,5 times smaller than the fuel ethanol market. Between 2010-2023, the EUs fuel ethanol consumption grew by over 40%, while the non-fuel consumption grew by only 9%. This growth in the non-fuel market is mostly due to the high demand for hand and surface sanitisers generated by the COVID 19 health crisis, with extra demand having now disappeared. The non-fuel ethanol market is therefore stable with no projections for growth. 4. Ethanol is a sensitive product in the EU and European companies produce sufficient non- fuel ethanol to meet demand. EU companies are producing sufficient non-fuel ethanol to meet consumption demand, thus there is no need for imports - contrary to the fuel ethanol market which is growing rapidly with limited increase in production. Moreover, the end of combustion engine vehicles by 2035 will see even more fuel ethanol going into the non-fuel ethanol market. 5. Non-fuel ethanol is a critical product, and its production should be kept in Europe. Ethanol produced in Europe provides the best guarantee of security of supply. Policy makers must not forget that European industries which use ethanol, such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics are among the export leaders in their field and have been able to develop their dominance because of a reliable supply of high-quality ethanol. The COVID 19 crisis has demonstrated once again the need to keep ethanol production in Europe. Moreover, industrial ethanol-producing companies create and sustain jobs in farming, engineering, construction, operations and transport and support over 15,000 direct and indirect jobs in Europe. It is therefore our recommendation to the EU Commission to protect the sensitivity of the EU non- fuel ethanol industry by maintaining the same tariff rate quota of 200,000 tonnes allocated to Ukraine and opposing to any further liberalization of tariffs in the context of the implementation of Article 29 of the DCFTA. For more information, please see our position paper attached.
Read full response

Response to Update of list of sustainable biofuel feedstocks

21 Dec 2022

We hereby submit some highlights regarding the proposed update for Annex IX. In Part A (advanced double counting raw materials ) of Annex IX, the following raw materials are added: (r) Alcoholic distillery residues and wastes (fusel oils) not fit for use in the food or feed chain; It is important to clearly define if the residues and wastes are indeed limited to fusel oils, as in a rectification unit processing crude ethanol into fuel or industrial ethanol, up to 5 percent of the incoming ethanol is extracted in what is called heads and tails - namely non ethanol components of crude ethanol. Heads and part of the tails are a by product of a distillery, with a commercial value hence not a waste nor a residue. Fuesel oils are part of the tails and are indeed a waste. Left as such the new (r ) could be construed as if heads and tails could be residue or waste unless they are specifically excluded, to the exception of Fuesel Oils. In Part B (non-advanced double counting raw materials ) of Annex IX, the following raw materials are added: (c) residues and waste of bakery products and confectionery products unfit for food use or in the animal food chain; (d) residues and waste from the production of beverages unfit for use in the food and feed chain; (e) residues and waste of fruit and vegetables unfit for use in food and feed, excluding tails, leaves, stems and shells; The following EER codes shall reasonably correspond to these categories of waste: (c) = EER 0206XX; (d) = EER 0207XX; (e) = EER 0203XX. The current point (d) of Part A of Annex IX reads: Biomass fraction corresponding to industrial waste unfit for use in the food or feed chain, including material from retail and wholesale trade and from the agri-food, fisheries and aquaculture industries, and excluding feedstocks listed in Part B of this Annex; This definition in Annex A of the GSE, Italian Authority, is explained by indicating the following EER waste codes: EER 02 02 XX (excluding EER 02 02 02 and EER 02 02 99); EER 02 03 01 - EER 02 03 04 - EER 02 03 05; EER 02 04 01 - EER 02 04 03; EER 02 05 01 - EER 02 05 02; EER 02 06 01 - EER 02 06 03; EER 02 07 01 - EER 02 07 02 - EER 02 07 04 - EER 02 07 05. A doubt therefore arises regarding the fact that the proposed update inserts these raw materials in part B, creating ambiguity about their actual classification that previously saw them included in part of Part A, involving a different qualification of biomethane that derives from "advanced double counting" to "non-advanced double counting" with obvious repercussions. There is further disorientation in the definition in point (n) of the updated Part B. The word vinasse is not clear to which organic matrix it refers. In this regard, in the current part A letter k) in the English version of RED II we find "grape marcs and wine lees" which is correctly translated into "pomace and lees of grapes". Finally, it is worth remembering that art. Article 28(6) of RED II provides that the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 35 to amend the list of feedstocks set out in Parts A and B of Annex IX by adding, but not removing, feedstocks.
Read full response