Activites

• 2003/06/19 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T5-0294/2003 summary

    The European Parliament adopted its own-initiative report drafted by Anders WIJKMAN (EPP-ED, Sweden) on energy cooperation with developing countries. (Please see the summary of 20/05/03.) Parliament emphasised that production and distribution of energy should be looked upon as essentially a public service and hence organised so as to guarantee affordable access for all. The key issue is not whether energy provision is organised by a public or private entity but rather the specific obligations provided by the policy framework. Parliament went on to ask the Commission to make sure that the primary purpose of energy programmes, within its development portfolio, is local development, facilitated by the decentralisation of energy programmes. Increased use of renewable energy sources would reduce dependence on expensive imports of fossil fuels and help improve the balance of payments. At the same time, renewable energy projects can have a significant impact on job creation. Parliament indicated that the ethanol programme in Brazil, for example, has generated at least seven hundred thousand new jobs in the rural areas. The governments of the developing countries, assisted by the Commission, must examine the possibilities of overcoming the many barriers to investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency, such as the lack of adequate legal, fiscal or regulatory frameworks, and the reasons for the lack of private investment. Finally, Parliament asked the Commission and the Council to establish binding environment and climate-related criteria for all grant-based assistance in the energy sector as well as for action taken within the EIB and national export credit agencies (ECAs) so as to promote investment in forms of sustainable energy. Negotiations with national ECAs must aim towards the introduction of an energy portfolio target of at least 20% in support of sustainable energy projects.�

• 2003/06/18 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2003/05/20 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A5-0196/2003
• 2002/11/21 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2002/07/17 Non-legislative basic document published
  • COM(2002)0408 summary

    PURPOSE : to propose a framework for discussion, a co-operation framework based on the ownership principle and concrete recommendations to integrate energy more effectively into the sustainable development concept. CONTENT : the Johannesburg World Summit in August -September 2002 (Rio+10) will for the first tie address globally the issue of sustainable development. Energy is likely to be high on the agenda in view of its central role in the three dimensions of sustainable development: the social dimension, the economic dimension and the environmental dimension. Energy has been neglected for a long time and now has become an essential part of the sustainable development debate. The Johannesburg conference should provide an opportunity to catch up in this area, by allotting energy the place that it deserves in order to contribute to sustainable development. The EU's experience and aid can facilitate the establishment of a sustainable energy sector in the developing countries. Energy, a sector where three major issues (poverty reduction, security of supply and environmental protection) coincide, should be integrated, in its three dimensions, into the existing EU cooperation instruments, namely development policy, energy policy, environmental policy and research policy. This communication analyses the energy situation of the developing countries and ways of revitalising energy cooperation between them and the EU. About 2 billion people in the world do not have access to basic energy services. The developing countries countries often have in common very rapid demographic growth, low levels of sharp increase in energy demand. As regards the proposed framework, it is based on the opening up of production and distribution to principle of "ownership", according to which the beneficiary countries and regions themselves choose their cooperation priorities. The broad outlines of the proposal are: - reform of the energy sector: in particular opening up of production and distribution to the private sector and pricing; - technology transfer: notably technologies relating to energy efficiency renewable energy sources. As regards demand-side co-operation: the Commission particularly stresses the potential of this aspect of cooperation. Energy efficiency is an area in which the EU has developed broad experience and which is still largely untapped in the developing countries. Concerning supply-side cooperation: - Energy diversification: introduction and development of clean coal technologies. While the use of renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind or small hydro plants can play an important role in permitting local access to energy, particularly in rural areas, the Commission points to their high cost and the low probability that they can totally offset the decrease in traditional biomass. With regard to nuclear energy, the Commission considers that most developing countries do not have all the necessary technical and safety conditions in place. However, the European Union can provide the necessary technical assistance to those countries that have chosen the nuclear option in order to guarantee the highest possible level of safety. - Development of networks, and in particular interconnections: the development of energy infrastructures at regional level canoffer major added value and important economies of scale along the lines of the EU internal energy market. Lastly, the Commission announces a new European Union Energy Initiative and draws up a set of operational recommendations for improving the efficiency of cooperation in the medium and long term. The aim of the European Union Energy Initiative will be to combat poverty and establish a sustainable energy sector in the developing countries. It will be of a voluntary nature and encourage partnerships between governments and the organisations responsible for development and energy in the developing countries on the one hand, and their counterparts at the Commission and in the Member States on the other. Private companies, the relevant financial institutions and NGOs will be invited to participate. Long-term objectives are also highlighted in the communication. �

  • DG ['Energy and Transport'],

Documents

• Non-legislative basic document published: COM(2002)0408
• Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A5-0196/2003
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0294/2003

History

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