Finland wants the MSR to start in 2021 and for backloaded allowances to return to the market, the government said on Wednesday, deepening the divide between European governments on the bill.

Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said in a statement that Finland backed the MSR if it started in 2021 but added that government was open to compromise.

“In the spirit of compromise, we’re ready to discuss proposals that could be supported by a majority of member states,” he said.

The start date position aligns Finland with that of Poland, which has claimed the support of seven other member states, enough to block a deal on an earlier start.

At least 15 nations have said they favour a 2017 start and in an attempt to broker a compromise, EU presidency holder Latvia proposed a 2019 start last week.

EU nations are aiming to reach a deal on the MSR at a Brussels meeting on March 25 and expect Latvia to table a fresh compromise proposal.

“We don’t want to cause uncertainty on the market or raise costs on Finnish industry, even in the short term. On the other hand, the emissions trade is a key tool in reducing emissions. It is important to make it work properly,” Stubb wrote.

By Ben Garside – ben@carbon-pulse.com