EU Commission to publish ETS plan next week

At the same meeting, the Commission, the EU's executive, will adopt a proposal clarifying an article of the ETS law on the timing of auctions of permits. The steps are designed to bolster a market that has fallen to record lows.

Commission spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde-Hansen said the Commission would "transmit to member states a draft for a future adaptation of the timing when emissions allowances would be auctioned."

She said the draft would be published so that all parties with an interest in the ETS can express their views.

(Reporting by Barbara Lewis)