Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, speaking as I do today on Mr Glante’s highly technical dossier, I give an opinion on it in my capacity as shadow rapporteur for my group in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy. Our position, too, is characterised by the environmental aspects. The Committee on the Environment agreed on that unanimously, after the vote had, indeed, been deferred twice by reason of the somewhat laborious discussion. The significance of a safe, economical, and environmentally friendly supply of energy is not a matter of dispute. The production of energy to a high standard could also be guaranteed by building power plants based on a system of cogeneration, which, when compared with separate generation, has the advantage that it makes the most efficient use of fuels, whether from fossil or renewable sources. Moreover, the process of cogeneration can avoid the emission of carbon dioxide, which means that stepping up the promotion of cogeneration plants is an essential instrument in the package of measures required to comply with the Kyoto protocol on global climate change. In the European Union at present, however, cogeneration is not yet being used to its full potential as a means of saving energy. A substantial extension of its use is indispensable when it comes to dealing with climate change and saving resources. Along with securing the energy supply, another fundamental objective of the draft directive submitted by the Commission is to create a framework capable of promoting the building and proper operation of cogeneration plants. We believe that the draft put forward by the Commission is right in principle, but in need of improvements at various points, a view taken also by the members of the leading Committee and expressed by their rapporteur. Whatever happens, we want to see the ambitious objective laid down that the proportion of the total electricity generated in the European Union by cogeneration plants should be doubled, rising from 9%, as it was in 1994, to 18% in 2012. We need transparent rules on what can be promoted as a cogeneration plant, rules that must be applicable throughout the European Union. The two-stage procedure proposed by the Commission, with its classification of energy for agriculture, industry and heating, does not provide that transparency; instead, it simply demands an excessive burden of administration. It is for that reason that we want to impose as standard an index figure for electricity and 80% efficiency. That, at any rate, is what the Environment Committee has decided. In addition, cogeneration plants with an output of over 50 megawatts should also fall within the maximum aid envisaged by the EU. There is no doubt that the limit proposed by the Commission is set too low. Even small cogeneration plants can produce 100 megawatts, or even more. Small and medium-sized plants ensure decentralised implementation, which can certainly make for effectiveness in terms of protection of the environment. We must do more to counteract increasing global warming, and a cleverly conceived directive on cogeneration plants can certainly help to do that.

Political group: PSE