Under the Commission proposal, as of 2013 all rights to CO2 emissions in the energy sector will have to be sold at special auctions. According to a recent report from Société Générale bank, prices of CO2 emission rights will reach 80 euros per ton in 2013, or four times the current price. The bank's calculations differ considerably from estimates by the Commission, which believes that fears of impending sharp price increases are exaggerated. Commission spokesperson Barbara Helfferich says Brussels estimates prices of the mandatory emission permits will only rise a little above 30 euros.

The Polish government challenges the Commission data which it regards as unreliable. According to Mikołaj Dowgielewicz, head of the Office of the Committee for European Integration, several reports have shown that if passed in its present shape, the new legislation will have a disastrous effect on electricity prices. Thus the Polish government is seeking to make some of the regulations less restrictive.

"We do not want to obstruct the energy-climate package, but to help design it responsibly," Tusk said, adding that the new EU member states have joined forces in an attempt to require the EU to prevent uncontrollable price fluctuations in CO2 emission rights before the package is adopted. The new member states also want the EU to take into consideration the specific economic conditions of individual countries, especially those economies, such as Poland's, that heavily rely on coal. "We shall not pursue the spurious hope that a single country, especially in our group of countries which are poorer than the richest member states, might be able to negotiate a package that could satisfy us all," Tusk said.