A letter to EU leaders was issued ‘on behalf of’ 1,300 signatories. Some firms deny they supported the demands.
Zia Weise
Merz jumped on the demands to suggest he was open to weakening the policy, comments he later rowed back on but not before they crashed the carbon price. Ever since, attacks on the ETS, which obliges factories to pay for their pollution, have escalated, with Italy recently calling for a suspension pending an upcoming reform.
The letterhead on top of the petition, which asked the EU to “bring energy and carbon costs down,” read: “Presented to EU leaders at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp on 11 February 2026 on behalf of the signatories of the Antwerp Declaration.”
The 2024 Antwerp Declaration, which called for a European “Industrial Deal” and did not mention carbon costs, was backed by nearly 1,350 signatories, including more than 900 companies ranging from steel giant ArcelorMittal to fertilizer producer Yara.
An emailed press release linking to the petition similarly stated that “the Antwerp Declaration Community — representing more than 1,300 companies, associations and trade unions across Europe — called on EU Heads of State and Government to take urgent and bold action.”
But some of those companies now say they didn’t support the missive — and even the organizers admitted to POLITICO that they do not know the actual number of backers for this year’s petition, dubbed the Antwerp Call to Alden-Biesen in reference to the Belgian chateau where EU leaders met the day after the industry summit.
The findings throw a spotlight on a lobbying practice starting to spread through Europe: Letters demanding controversial policy changes in the name of companies loosely associated with the organizers to boost their influence.
