Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-02-Speech-2-283"
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"en.20011002.12.2-283"2
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". – Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I would firstly like to thank the rapporteur, Mrs McNally, for her work in relation to this Regulation. I am aware that she has worked intensively with Parliament and the Council in order to reach the position we are in today. I also hope that we manage to reach an agreement on the text which is acceptable to all of us. I am sure that none of us want to go to conciliation if we can solve the problem in a more appropriate way, given that our positions are very similar.
This proposal is integrated into the Commission’s action plan to improve the energy efficiency of the European Union. Office communication equipment represents a high proportion of the electrical consumption of the tertiary sector and we all agree that the use of efficient and ecological office equipment can contribute to the sustainable development strategy decided at the European Council in Gothenburg.
The proposed programme for coordination of labelling, the Energy Star programme, will lead to significant reductions in electricity consumption and CO2 emissions, and is therefore very viable. As Mrs McNally has very rightly said – and I would like to stress that I am in full agreement with her – energy efficiency is key. The key thing is to use energy well. That is where we have the greatest margins and we stated this in the Green Paper on the European Union’s energy supply.
After a long period of negotiation, in December 2000 the agreement was finally signed with the United States on coordination of programmes for energy efficiency labelling on office equipment. Now we need this Regulation so that we can appropriately implement what was signed with the United States.
This programme has already been a success in the United States and has led to considerable participation by manufacturers, the large majority of which have introduced energy-saving devices into their products. It has also increased consumer awareness of wastage resulting from office equipment in standby mode.
On the basis of the positive experience on the other side of the Atlantic, the Commission is convinced that the Energy Star labelling programme will naturally lead to the gradual elimination of inefficient equipment on the Community market.
We perfectly understand the European Parliament’s concerns in relation to the effectiveness of the proposed Regulation on this specific point. These concerns are reflected in the amendment which Mrs McNally is still maintaining. There is no doubt that in other circumstances I would say that I agree with her. However, on this occasion I would ask Parliament to reject it or, even better, that Mrs McNally withdraw it. Because, although I agree with its content, I do not believe that this is the right instrument in which to include this type of measure. The Energy Star programme is not exactly the right place to include this incitement to renovation, modernisation and withdrawal of least efficient equipment.
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to tell the House that we are preparing a framework directive on minimum efficiency requirements in the office communication equipment sector, amongst others, a directive which I hope will be presented to this House and the Council during next year.
I have taken this opportunity to explain the Commission’s position and I hope that Mrs McNally can withdraw her amendment and that we can therefore approve this report on the Energy Star programme today without having to go to the conciliation procedure"@en1
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