Procedure completed
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
---|---|---|---|
Opinion | ENVI | KRONBERGER Hans (NI) | |
Lead | ITRE | TURMES Claude (V/ALE) |
Legal Basis RoP 132
Activites
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2000/12/29
Final act published in Official Journal
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2000/03/30
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
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T5-0133/2000
summary
The European Parliament adopted its Resolution on Electricity from renewable resources and the internal electricity market, drafted by Mr. Claude TURMES (Greens/ALE, Lux). With a view to the creation of a true Internal Electricity Market, the Parliament calls once again for the Council to adopt legislation which would enable the progressive introduction of an EU-wide CO2 energy tax. It also calls for the EU institutions to establish formal rules for the certification of all electricity and for labelling so as to provide electricity consumers with real considered choice. In this context, it asks the Commission to develop a plan to address subsidies to traditional energy sources, and to ensure the even application of EU state aid disciplines, so that all Member States, and all energies, are submitted to the same provisions, so creating a proper level playing field in the Internal Electricity Market. Parliament considers that any Directive to be proposed by the Commission on renewables in the Internal Electricity Market, following the consideration of the Working Papers, must not only protect the systems which promote the development of renewable electricity generation in the Internal Market in the medium term, especially the ones that have already proved to be more effective, but must go much further in this priority area, and establish a suitable and stable legal framework for renewable energies to underpin the rapid development of these energy sources, bearing in mind that renewable energies should constitute a major part of the energy mix in the long run. It calls for steps to be taken to ensure that even after the entry into force of new incentive arrangements, there is no disadvantage for those who have made investments up to now based on other rules. According to the Parliament, a mechanism of 'burden sharing' negotiation, managed by the Commission, must be put in place to bring Member States to commit themselves to both ambitious but fair targets for the consumption of electricity generated from renewable energy sources. Before electricity is tradde across borders is included in meeting any target of the importing Member State, rules would have to be put into place by the EU for such trade: a) to provide comprehensive EU-wide certification for all electricity and also labelling systems; b) to ensure, in particular, during the transitional period, that the terms of trade would not undermine existing Member State support systems for renewable energies, and that rules on the obligation to take renewable electricity were clear; c) to spread best practice so as to avoid excessive 'hot spot' development. The Parliament believes that, while aiming at a common Internal Electricity Market in the medium term which includes renewables, subsidiarity will allow all Member States to choose their system unhindered until 2010, and in the meantime, the situation will be reviewed by the Commission in 2005, to evaluate to what extent Member States are achieving their agreed burden-sharing targets, taking account of national and regional specificities of the different Member States and the contribution of renewables to local and regional economies. Given the lack of fully functioning CO2 energy taxes, the avoided costs associated with renewables, and given the distortions in the Internal Market caused by direct subsidies paid from State funds to traditonal energy sources, as well as indirect subsidies given to those energy sources, the Parliament believes that supports to renewable energies must not be viewed as straightforward subsidies under the rules on state aid and should therefore be treated in a special and separate manner. Given the special problems experienced by islands in energy planning and supply, the Parliament calls for incentive arrangements for investments in renewable energy for islands. The EP calls for a Commission proposal for a Directive to promote renewable energies to observe the distinction between start-up aid and those subsidies which under the EC Treaty (EU primary legislation) can have a long-term effect on trade between the Member States. As long as no CO2 energy tax is in place, the Parliament cannot envisage that supports to renewables could be limited in time or in extent by a Directive, while direct and indirect subsidies to traditional energy sources continue. In the Parliament's opinion, renewable energies should be clearly defined as those energies which renew themselves indefinitely, and therefore should not include municipal incineration or peat, but may include biogas and geothermal, as per the White Paper on renewables. A separate article is required in any Directive which should exclude large hydro in general, since it is normally already economically viable, possibly with some very limited exceptions for newer installations or the restoration of older ones. The Commission is called upon to report on the situation regarding fair access to the grid for renewables in its widest interpretation, in all Member States and trans-boundary, and so incorporate rules based on best possible practice into any Directive, bearing in mind the special conditions under which renewables operate. Lastly, the Parliament calls on the Commission to submit a draft Directive supplementing the one relating to the internal electricity market and establishing both priority rules for access to electricity produced by means of a renewable energy source and a financial framework for shared cost Community intervention in respect of research into, and the promotion of, renewable energy sources.�
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T5-0133/2000
summary
- 2000/03/29 Debate in Parliament
- 2000/03/22 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
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2000/01/17
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
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1999/04/13
Non-legislative basic document published
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SEC(1999)0470
summary
PURPOSE: this Working Paper aims to outline the results of the studies carried out following the adoption of the first report on the needs for the harmonisation of the internal market for electricity (COM(1998) 167 of 16/03/1998) and to put forward a certain number of likely conclusions and possibilities for action on the basis of these results. CONTENT: the promotion of renewable energy resources (RES) is one of the Community's main priorities. The main reasons why RES must be developed are linked to the environment, to the stimulation of the competitiveness of the European RES industry, to the security and the diversity of energy supplies in the Union, and to strengthening social and economic cohesion. At this stage, the Commission has not yet come to any definitive conclusions on the question of knowing whether it is necessary to propose harmonisation measures (directive) at Community level, nor their detailed content if this is the case. The Working Paper outlines the various options that the Community faces to deal with the questions of electricity production from renewable energy resources, but the final decision will be taken in the light of reactions to this Paper. In order to achieve the objective of the better operation of the single market, the Community is currently faced with 2 main options: - Option 1: the progressive realisation of the internal market by the continuous application of the Treaty of the European Union's rules. In this option, each Member State shall continue to freely choose the support scheme that it believes to be the most appropriate, taking into consideration its own situation, under the reserve of the strict application of the Treaty rules, notably on State assistance. This approach would have clear advantages but would, however, present the disadvantage of allowing legal uncertainty to remain, to the extent that national systems would risk having to undergo changes because of legal actions brought in the name of state aid rules. In addition, this approach highlights once again the disadvantage of being too long to put in place and it would leave hanging in suspense, throughout the transition phase, the difficulties associated with the cohabitation of different schemes. - Option 2: the dynamic creation of a single market by action at Community level. Under this approach, the adoption of a Community framework in the form of a directive could be envisaged. The Member States would be required to make provisions so that, after a reasonable transition period, their direct support schemes to electricity produced from RES would meet a number of basic requirements so as to ensure an adequate compatibility between the various schemes in order to allow the practice of effective trade and the introduction of real competition. In the hypothesis that a dynamic approach (Community directive) is chosen, another choice would have to be made concerning the type of scheme necessary or adapted to the creation of an efficient single market. There are three main types of mechanisms that might be foreseen in this context : schemes based on quotas, fixed-bonus schemes paid to the producers of renewable energy, and joint schemes that combine the 2 former schemes. These questions will be subject to a deeper examination in light of the observations received after the publication of this Paper. In addition, in the hypothesis that a proposal for a directive is presented, several additional elements would have to be analysed, such as: The exclusion of electricity produced by the large hydroelectric plants (that is to say with an installed capacity of more than 10MW) from the definition of RES for the purposes of a legislative proposal; - Whether to eventually include or exclude waste; - Whether to provide a transition period or a long period of transposition duringwhich Member States would be free to keep in operation the support schemes that they consider appropriate to raise the production of RES electricity to the level which would make the introduction of the single market possible; - To preserve the small isolated systems and the new segments of the market, for which technologies are not yet completely developed; - To provide for quite long transitional schemes · or schemes based on 'stranded costs' · at national level; - To establish a certification of origin system so as to bring some reality to commercial exchanges between the Member States; - To eventually impose on each Member State certain obligations so as to guarantee a minimal level of support in favour of RES electricity in each country. Following the reactions to this paper, the Commission will present, if necessary, appropriate proposals.�
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SEC(1999)0470
summary
Documents
- Non-legislative basic document published: SEC(1999)0470
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A5-0078/2000
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0133/2000
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