"Decarbonisation should not be achieved by deindustrialisation" and "emission reduction in industry should be achieved as cost-efficiently as possible", the ministers said in a joint statement shared by the German economy ministry.

Dating back to 2005, the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) is the European Union's flagship climate policy and the world's first large?scale carbon market.

It is designed to reduce greenhouse?gas emissions cost?effectively by putting a cap on total emissions and allowing companies to trade allowances within that cap.

The European Commission is due to present proposals for reforming the ETS in 2026.

The statement was signed by the industry ministers of Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain.

The ministers said the current system exposes manufacturers to "the risk of high price levels, increased market volatility and limited liquidity".

They called for an ETS revision that "enhances EU competitiveness by ensuring an effective price signal, predictability, market stability and protection against excessive price volatility".

They also pressed for a "pragmatic approach to free allocation that fosters investments in climate-friendly technologies and provides robust safeguards against carbon leakage".

In early February, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised the "clear benefits" of the European carbon market in response to complaints from industry and some governments about high carbon prices.

French President Emmanuel Macron also recently said Europeans "need to keep a carbon market" but admitted that it "does not work well for some countries", with high costs for those most dependent on fossil fuels.