Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-05-Speech-2-103"
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"en.19991005.6.2-103"2
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"Rapporteur, ladies and gentlemen, last March I already had occasion to say that as a Frenchman, I was and still am in favour of a highly voluntarist policy on energy. We must, as far as possible, move beyond the mere declarations of intent which have been heard so many times over the last decade, and find strong concrete applications if we want to achieve this target, a very modest one by the way, of 12%. It is only on this condition that the European Union will be able to provide itself with an energy policy which is durable, balanced and fully secure. It is of course the European Commission’s task to work towards this.
To this end, two strategies have been developed through two multiannual programmes: SAVE II and ALTENER II. What must be done today, at their second reading is, of course, to renew both of these programmes, but also to improve them, with the help of the opportunities given to us by the Treaty of Amsterdam and by codecision. As far as the Langen report is concerned, and this is really what my intervention is about, as well as sources of renewable energy, everyone knows how important these energies are in reducing pollution and in preserving natural resources. We are also aware of the difficulties preventing these sources of energy from entering a free market in which more traditional energy resources are often much cheaper, not to mention the absence of measures designed to promote the taking up of new energies on a voluntarist basis.
This is, of course, why I approve of the amendments tabled by Mr Langen which demand that the Commission plays a more active role in encouraging a strategy of coordinated promotion within the Member States as well as developing Europe’s potential for exporting technologies connected with renewable energy. It is true that this will entail additional costs. We must bear these costs because they are actually quite modest compared to what is at stake: around EUR 7 million. I also approve, of course, of the call for a charter on renewable energy.
In conclusion, I shall say that the vote for these two reports represents a pledge to the citizens of Europe, showing the European Union’s will to protect the environment whilst reducing our dependence on energy. This is also a statement and a measure against the dictatorship of the market and of out-and-out liberalism. More specifically, on the threshold of the next world conference on climate change which is to be held in Bonn, this sends out a positive sign of our Kyoto commitment to reduce CO2 emissions."@en1
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