Activites

• 2001/10/27 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Directive 2001/77
  • OJ L 283 27.10.2001, p. 0033
• 2001/09/27 Final act signed
• 2001/09/27 End of procedure in Parliament
• 2001/09/07 Act approved by Council, 2nd reading
• 2001/07/04 Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading
  • T5-0379/2001 summary

    The European Parliament adopted the report by Mechtild ROTHE (PES, D) and amended the Council's common position on electricity from renewable energy sources. (Please refer to previous text).�

• 2001/07/03 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2001/06/20 Vote in committee, 2nd reading
  • A5-0227/2001
• 2001/04/04 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 2nd reading
• 2001/03/23 Council position published
  • 05583/1/2001 summary

    At the end of its examination the Council concluded that the main focus of the Directive should be on promoting the contribution of RES to electricity production rather on creating a common framework to that effect. Firstly, it should be noted that the Council has retained article 175, para 1 of the EC Treaty as the legal basis, contrary to the Commission's proposal based on article 95 which in the Commission's view was the appropriate basis. Moreover, the main elements of the common position are as follows: - it retains a broader definition of RES in particular as regards a) biomass to enlarge the choice of RES that could be used by Member States while firmly stating that Member States must comply with Community legislation on waste when they use waste as an energy source; and b) hydropower, as there appears to be no ground on which to exclude as "non renewable" hydropower above a given capacity threshold. Information on the capacity is nevertheless made available through the guarantee of origin; - it clarifies that the national targets to be set by Member States for the future consumption of electricity produce from RES should be of an indicative nature. These targets are established on the basis of ambitious reference values, which are set out in the Annex of the Directive, together with prerequisites identified by several Member States for achieving their national objectives. As can be seen from the prerequisites, certain factors, over which Member States have no or little control, can affect the ability to achieve the targets. This is one of the reasons why the Council considers that indicative rather than mandatory targets are more appropriate and realistic. Also subsidiarity is an important consideration in this respect; - it states that the key role played by support schemes for the promotion of electricity from RES is duly acknowledged in particular with reference to the State aid guidelines for environmental protection; - it clarifies that the mutual recognition of guarantees of origin only concerns these guarantees as proof of the electricity and that the purchase of, and schemes for these guarantees do not necessarily have implications in terms of fulfilment of national quota obligation or right to benefit from national support mechanisms; - it recognises that, due to technical constraints or the organisation of distribution systems, it is not always possible to provide priority access stricto sensu to transportation and distribution of electricity from RES while nevertheless guaranteeing the transmission and distribution of this electricity; - to amend the date corresponding to various reporting requirements in order to improve consistency and to allow sufficient time for the measures taken by Member States of the reports and the administrative steps to be taken by Member States to what is necessary for achieving the objective of the Directive. �

• 2000/12/29 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(2000)0884 summary

    The Commission's amended proposal for a Directive on the promotion of electricity from renewable energy sources in the internal electricity market, contains two types of amendments. Firstly, in response to the first reading by the European Parliament, a number of new provisions have been accepted. They serve to balance and elaborate further on specific ideas in the original proposal. Secondly, the Commission has made minor rewording and editing to ensure consistency between this text and other applicable Community legislation and to ensure internal consistency within the text itself. The main changes adopted by the Commission are the following: - the Commisison adapted the definition of renewable energy sources except for the inclusion of peat, as this last item is clearly a fossil fuel. The main change in this respect concerns broader definition of biomass with the definition of renewable energy sources. This broader definition gives Members a larger choice of renewable energy sources when taking measures to fulfil their national targets for increasing the market share of electricity in the internal market without undermining the requirement of the Community waste policy; - the Commission amended the provision on support schemes by introducing more in detail the main issues its report on existing support schemes should cover. Furthermore, the criteria for a possible future support schemes were amended, now providing a more balanced frame between internal market and promotion aspects; - a new paragraph is added obliging the Commission to undertake a forward looking review and indications of the national targets for the period 2010-2020. With regard to clarifications and expansions of recitals, the changes stress the following and reflect the amendments proposed by the European Parliament: - the manifold advantages of renewable energy sources; - the need for a stable legal framework; - existing distortions in the internal electricity market; - a call for a further Directive on biofuels from renewable energy sources; - the conditions that must be met in order that investment aid might be given to large hydroelectric installations; - clarification of the application of State aid rules; - reference to compensation payments for avoided external costs; - the importance of market forces to develop electricity produced from renewable energy sources; - clarifying that it is not the intention of this proposed Directive to interfere excesively with the normal use of biomass. �

  • DG ['Energy and Transport'],
• #2318
• 2000/12/05 Council Meeting
• 2000/11/16 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T5-0514/2000 summary

    The Parliament adopted, with a number of amendments, the report drafted by Mrs Mechtild ROTHE (PES, D). The report stresses that renewable energies from an effective strategy for environmental protection and would help the EU to achieve the Kyoto targets. (Refer to the previous document).�

• 2000/11/15 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2000/10/24 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A5-0320/2000
• 2000/06/16 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2000/05/10 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2000)0279 summary

    PURPOSE : to present a proposal for a Directive on the promotion of electricity from renewable energy sources in the internal electricity market. CONTENT : the basic objective underlying this draft Directive is to create a framework which will facilitate the medium-term significant increase in renewable generated electricity ("RES-E") within the EU. It is an important part of measures aimed at meeting the obligation to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases accepted by the EU at Kyoto and must be seen in the light of the indicative objective of doubling the share of renewable energy from at present 6% to 12% of the gross inland energy consumption as set out in the White Paper on renewable energy sources and endorsed by the Energy Council in May 1998. In order to achieve its objective, the Directive proposes that Member States are required to take the necessary measures to ensure that the level of RES-E develops in conformity with the energy and environmental objectives undertaken at national, as well as Community, level. Member States will, therefore, have to set and meet national targets for the domestic future consumption of RES-E which are consistent with the White Paper on renewables and national commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the light of the Kyoto obligations. These targets and the measures taken to reach them shall be set out in an annual report published by all Member States. The Commission will then assess and publish a report on the Member States policies in light of the White Paper and the Kyoto obligations. With regard to the support schemes for RES-E currently operated in Member States, the Commission has concluded that insufficient evidence exists to provide, at this stage, for the introduction of a harmonised Community wide support scheme setting the price for RES-E through Community-wide competition between generators, in particular with regard to direct price support being the most important form of support in practice. Nevertheless, the Commission believes that this should remain the objective since its achievement is likely, in the medium term, to reduce prices of RES-E and increase the penetration of RES-E in the internal market. Furthermore, in view of creating a proper level playing field within the international electricity market, it is necessary for the Commission to monitor the application of support schemes in favour of generators of electricity form renewable, as well as conventional, energy sources in Member States and, no later than five years after the entry into force of this Directive, to present a report on the experience gained in this respect. If necessary, in the light of the conclusions of this report, the Commission will make a proposal for a Community framework with regard to support schemes for electricity from renewable energy sources based on principles defined already in this Directive. In order to ensure that trade in RES-E becomes both reliable and practically possible, the draft Directive requires the Member States to introduce a system for the certification of origin of RES-E. Finally, the Directive foresees a number of accompanying measures intended to create a level playing field and facilitate the penetration of RES-E in the internalelectricity market, notably regarding administrative procedures and grid system issues.�

  • DG ['Energy and Transport'],

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2000)0279
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A5-0320/2000
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0514/2000
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(2000)0884
• Council position published: 05583/1/2001
• Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading: A5-0227/2001
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading: T5-0379/2001
• : Directive 2001/77
• : OJ L 283 27.10.2001, p. 0033

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)