BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers agreed on Monday to support a proposal on rules governing which financial products can be called "green" and "sustainable" after EU member states rejected a deal on it last week.
The proposal has the potential to make the EU a leader in the booming $200 billion green bond market.
Last week, representatives from EU member states backtracked on their approval of a deal reached after months of discussions, noting concerns over the legislative text.
Britain, France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia had opposed the deal, fearing it would prevent investments in nuclear and coal projects from being labeled as green.
This proposed law is a first step toward establishing a framework labeling system for sustainable investments. A full set of labels will be developed in 2021.
The bill is expected to be approved by representatives from all EU member states on Wednesday and then sent to the EU's executive, the European Commission, which will sign it into law.
(Reporting by Jonas Ekblom; Editing by Dan Grebler)
