COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to the third indent of Article 251, 2 of the EC Treaty concerning the Common Position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Community Energy Efficiency Labelling Programme for Office and Communication Technology Equipment

1. Background

The Commission adopted a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Community Energy Efficiency Labelling Programme for Office and Communication Technology Equipment [1] on 28 January 2000 (document COM(2000)18 - 2000/0033/COD).

[1] OJ C 150 E, 30.05.2000, p. 73 - 78

This Commission proposal was forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council on 28.01.2000.

The European Parliament gave its first reading opinion on 1 February 2001 proposing 15 amendments. The Commission accepted all amendments in principle [2].

[2] A5-0006/2001

The modified Commission proposal was forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council on 20 March 2001 [3].

[3] COM(2001)142

The Council reached a political agreement on the proposal on 30 May 2000 and on 29 May 2001 unanimously adopted the Common Position which is the subject of this Communication.

2. Origin and objectives of the Commission proposal

The objective of the proposal is to introduce in the Community the Agreement between the United States of America and the European Community on the co-ordination of labelling programmes for office equipment (Energy Star Agreement) and establishing a Community voluntary energy labelling programme (the "Energy Star Programme"). The main objectives of this proposal are to establish the general rules and procedures for the Community Energy Star labelling programme. The proposal will contribute to achieving significant electricity savings in office equipment thus contributing to the Union CO2 emissions reduction goal. This is necessary for the implementation of the Energy Star Agreement, which will facilitate trade between the EC and the US.

The proposal aims in particular at ensuring the efficiency and transparency of the Energy Star technical specifications revision process by establishing a technical body, the European Community Energy Star Board, to assist the Commission in the revision of the technical specifications. Moreover, the proposal is necessary to enforce the proper use of the Energy Star logo and avoid its misuse and to ensure coherence between the Community scheme and other national energy labelling schemes in individual Member States.

The proposal is based on article 95 since it will contribute to the harmonisation of labels for energy efficiency of office equipment, thus avoiding potential barriers to the internal market. Article 95 is the legal base for all the Community initiatives for energy efficiency of traded goods.

3. Comments on the Common Position

The Common Position is rather close to the Commission's Modified Proposal. The Commission accepted in principle all the European Parliament amendments. The Common Position also includes the spirit and the thrust of the European Parliament amendments, with the exception of one minor amendment.

4. Conclusion

There is a broad agreement between the Commission's modified Proposal and the Common Position. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Commission supports the Common Position in substance. However, the Commission cannot agree to the new legal base proposed by the Council. For the Commission, the correct legal base for this proposal is Art. 95, which is used for all the energy efficiency initiatives for traded goods. All these initiatives, including the present Regulation, have as primary objective the harmonisation of labels and efficiency requirements at Community level, thus avoiding potential barriers to trade.

5. Statement by the Commission for the Minutes

The Commission asked that the following statement be inserted on the occasion of the adoption of the Common Position :

"The Commission notes the unanimous agreement of Council with a view to a Common Position. It regrets that the Council has retained article 175, para 1, of the EC Treaty as the legal basis, contrary to the Commission's proposal based on article 95 which in the Commission's view was the appropriate basis. The Commission considers that the choice made by the Council does not constitute a precedent".