Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-05-30-Speech-4-019"
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Commission I would first like to thank the European Parliament and its rapporteur, Mr Novelli, and the Chairman of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, Mr Westendorp, for the work that they have done in this area, and in particular for their favourable report on the proposal for a Council regulation on State aid to the coal industry.
We understand, ladies and gentlemen, that the Commission’s proposal is what I would even describe as harsh due to the requirement of continuing with the restructuring of the industry by closing the production units that do not contribute to the plan to safeguard coal resources and due to the reinforcement of the principles of progressive reduction and transparency in the granting of State aid. However I think that this is what can and should be put forward at this time.
We also think that it is consistent with the three pillars of the principle of sustainable development: security of supply, economic rationality and social and regional cohesion. A moment ago we were hearing from someone with very direct knowledge of a region such as Asturias, about how we are faced with these issues. In terms of the environment, it envisages promoting cleaner technology.
Finally, our proposal, which I hope will be favourably viewed by the European Parliament today, takes into account the dimension of the enlargement of the European Union, as some of you have said. Poland and the Czech Republic need to continue with the restructuring process that has been underway for more than a decade and with this proposal we are giving them a framework in which to carry out those changes.
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr President, I would like to thank you most sincerely for everything you have said, even those who were more critical, and I think that this is a balanced text, which I understand leaves a little to be desired for some and a lot for others, but I think that it is what can and should be put forward at present in order to maintain stability and a clear framework of relations in this key sector for some European regions particularly, but also for enlargement and for security of energy supply.
I am aware that this has been a complex issue, but as has been demonstrated today in the discussion, I think that in the end, as Mr Westendorp rightly said, the text that we put forward was the only one on which there could be this consensus and that could give us a way out and a solution in the face of a Treaty that is expiring. As Mr Novelli said, it is an innovation. It is true that to some extent it is an innovation when we move from a guarantee offered by a specific Treaty to an internal Regulation as part of the general rules.
In any case, I hope and trust that the Council will now be able to reach a political agreement at the Energy Council on 7 June, and I hope following the vote, with the support of this House, and that, with the Council meeting we will conclude the procedure for adopting this Regulation.
The Commission’s proposal is based on the discussions in the Green Paper on a European strategy for energy security and supply, and it is true that it is not a question here of whether or not we are under threat. I think that what we have to consider is whether we are more or less vulnerable, whether we are more or less secure, because I think that this is the concept that we need to have in mind. And being under threat is not exactly the same thing as being more vulnerable. Frankly, and this is why I have put forward this proposal, I think that it is precisely by maintaining strategic coal reserves that we can be more secure and less vulnerable to certain crisis situations.
We have very vulnerable points along the entire energy supply chain. And I think that after 11 September we need to consider that although the risks are very remote, they do unfortunately exist and we cannot ignore them.
In recent years the European Commission has been putting forward proposals in order to increase the contribution of renewable energy sources, mainly within indigenous primary energy sources. Those proposals mean increasing our security of supply.
In this sense it is important that the Member States that have coal resources should have a Community framework that enables them to continue to maintain access to them and to maintain minimum production to guarantee that access, within the focus on supply security, to minimum indigenous primary energy sources.
Ladies and gentlemen, with regard to the amendments tabled by Mr Turmes, the Commission does not feel that the proposal to withdraw references to the contribution of coal and renewable energy sources and the creation of a base of indigenous primary energy sources is in line with the principles of consolidating supply security and for that reason we cannot accept them. We wish to stress that, when dealing with issues associated with energy and the environment, the Commission’s focus is an overall one that takes into account all the issues associated with energy sources and their use.
With regard to the amendment stating that the aim of the new regulation is to incorporate coal products into Community law, the Commission considers that coal products will become a de facto part of the scope of application of the EC Treaty once the ECSC Treaty expires. We do not therefore consider this amendment to be necessary."@en1
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