Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-09-11-Speech-2-045-000"
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"en.20120911.5.2-045-000"2
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"Mr President, as the rapporteur, I can proudly announce that today, this House will discuss and, even more importantly, adopt, by a very large and broad majority, the Energy Efficiency Directive. This was a huge collective effort by us as Members of this Parliament and, of course, by all the staff involved. I am proud that once again, it was the directly-elected European Parliament, which, after having brought Europe on to the right track on the internal market and on renewable energies, has again been the most progressive institution in making this compromise possible at the end of the day.
Why is this legislation also important for citizens and businesses in Europe? This is an anti-economic crisis and anti-job crisis directive. Our economies in Europe are also weak because, in 2011 alone, we lost the astronomic sum of EUR 488 billion in having to buy oil, gas and other energy supplies. This is the single biggest wealth transfer out of the European economy to oligarchs in Russia and elsewhere in the world. It is six times bigger than at the beginning of the century and constitutes almost 4% of our GDP. I am proud that with this directive, certain oligarchs in the oil and gas market will earn less money.
On the other hand, many people will be happy about this directive. Firstly, all the people in Europe who are complaining about energy costs being too high. We do not control the oil price, but we can help citizens to invest in reducing their energy consumption. With this directive, we are creating businesses opportunities, above all for small and medium-sized enterprises in the construction sector. It is also good news for jobs in Europe. What I also want as a priority in transposition is for these investments to be linked to training, especially for young people in Europe. It will be so much better, bring so much more hope, if, with this directive, we can deliver not only organisation of energy in the future, but also guarantee the professional future of many young Europeans.
I have one more minute in which to outline two or three priorities for where we go from now on. First, of course, is financing. It is very important that, in the context of the discussions on the EU budget, we now make energy efficiency a priority for the Structural Funds; we need project bonds for efficiency; the European Investment Bank has to step in; and all this requires follow-up action.
But there is also the issue of legal implementation. I have three questions on that for the Commissioner, whom I want to thank for his personal, positive commitment to making this deal possible. I should also like to thank his staff. Commissioner, there will be a need for a lot of implementation notes and guidance. I think we should make the most of the range of stakeholders involved and constitute a forum, as was the case for the legislation on ecodesign. Within this forum, stakeholders can bring their expertise to the discussions on the details of implementation.
Second, going back to ecodesign, a decision on boilers is pending. Maybe in your speech, Commissioner, you can give us some details as to where we are now.
The last point is something that is very confusing. At this very moment, the Commission is forcing the UK Government to have VAT rates for energy efficiency products that are four times higher than the rates for gas and oil. This is very disturbing and annoying, so Commissioner, can you explain to us the rationale behind this push by the Commission?"@en1
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