No C 120/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 6. 5. 91 
4.2. The Committee therefore urges the Commission 
to amend Article 5 of the draft Decision accordingly 
Done at Brussels, 20 March 1991. 
1. Introduction 
1.1. In 1989 the Community depended on imports 
for 49% of its total energy requirement of which 
imported oil accounted for 35 % of the total net energy 
imports. 
1.2. Over the past fifteen years the action taken in 
the Member States to promote energy efficiency can be 
divided into three phases: 
— the first, from 1974 to the mid 1980s in which the 
Member States gradually adopted effective instru­
ments which led to a significant improvement in 
energy utilization, 
— the second, from the mid 1980s to 1989, in which 
the promotion programmes gradually stagnated or 
stopped altogether, resulting in a slow down of the 
improvement in energy intensity, and thus comply with its obligations under the Euratom 
Treaty. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois STAEDELIN 
— the third, from 1989 onwards, in which the Member 
States appeared to the heading increasingly towards 
a determined policy of energy efficiency, initially 
brought on by th threats of climatic changes due to 
carbon dioxide emissions, then out of concern to 
guarantee energy supplies and limit the impact on 
the economy which a third oil shock would have. 
1.3. In September 1986 the Energy Council set objec­
tives to be obtained by 1995 (2). One of their objectives 
was for efficiency of usage to be improved by at least 
20% by that date. 
1.4. In the SAVE programme the Commission have 
acknowledged that the objective of 20% cannot be 
achieved and that the improvement in energy intensity 
is likely to be in the region of 14 % if the present trends 
continue. 
1.5. The SAVE programme will provide the follow­
ing framework: 
— by recognizing the usefulness of measures to provide 
financial and tax incentives, Opinion on a proposal for a Council Decision concerning the promotion of energy efficiency 
in the Community (SAVE) (x) 
(91/C 120/02) 
On 30 November 1990 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Energy, Nuclear Questions and Research, which was responsible for preparing 
the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 6 March 1991. The Rapporteur 
was Mr Aspinall. 
At its 285th plenary session (meeting of 20 March 1991), the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following Opinion unanimously. 
C1) OJ No C 301, 30. 11. 1990, p. 11. (2) OJ No C 241, 25. 9. 1986. 
6. 5. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 120/7 
— by proposing a series of Directives designed to pro­
vide guidance for legal and administrative measures 
by the Member States, 
— by providing Community support measures for 
action in the Member States, 
— by ensuring a better information exchange between 
Member States and with non-Member countries, 
— and by establishing a system for coordinating 
national and Community action. 
2. Specific comments 
2.1. The Committee welcomes the Commission's 
proposal but feels that it should be strengthened by 
inclusion of the undermentioned suggestions. 
2.2. Most of the oil imports came from the Middle 
East and therefore with the latest crisis in that area it 
becomes essential that the Community undertakes a 
radical review of all its energy requirements so as to 
reduce its dependency on that area. 
2.3. The Committee welcomes the integration of the 
PACE programme (]) into SAVE, however it is import­
ant that the current activities continue and are not 
subsumed by the SAVE programme. 
2.4. The Committee notes that the structure of the 
advisory committee proposed under the SAVE pro­
gramme is not of the same composition as that for 
PACE and therefore considers that this is a retrograde 
step. 
The Committee further considers that the Commission 
should make every effort to publicise their activities 
under the SAVE programme so that manufacturers, 
users, consumers, employees and professional bodies 
can be given the opportunity of consultation and thus 
contribute to the work of the advisory committee. 
The Commission should make proposals as to how this 
should be carried out. 
2.5. The SAVE programme with a budget of only 
ECU 35 million can only provide for a Community 
coordinating action and thus it is essential that Member 
States provide the bulk of any finance to promote or 
support energy saving. 
2.6. The Committee feels strongly that energy 
efficiency should be given a higher priority in Member 
States, bearing in mind the need to conserve energy and 
for environmental reasons. The Commission needs to coordinate the activities of 
national energy efficiency authorities in all Member 
States through a proposal for a Directive to ensure 
continued commitment, and through the SAVE pro­
gramme be authorized to disseminate this information 
to the competent authorities in all other Member States. 
The Commission should be free to make comments. 
2.7. The Committee considers that as a result of the 
above, there may be a case for the Council to review 
Community funding on this programme at regular 
intervals to ensure that energy efficiency by and in each 
Member State is being promoted in the most effective 
way. 
2.8. It is important that the effects of this programme 
be integrated in the total policy decisions relating to 
the Internal Energy Market and existing programmes 
be examined to take into account energy efficiency 
measures. 
The Commission through the Thermie programme (2) 
should support the most promising technologies, such 
as cogeneration, district heating, heat pumps, alterna­
tive energy, and fuel cells, which complement energy 
efficiency objectives and direct their resources in this 
direction. 
2.9. A major thrust must be initiated under this 
programme to ensure that the Community's objective 
for environmental improvement, energy efficiency and 
security of supply are met. 
The position of the indigenous energy resources needs 
to be taken into account in the overall energy strategy 
of the Community and encouragement given to using 
wherever possible the newest energy efficient technol­
ogies. 
2.10. Lessons learnt from the SAVE programme 
should be made available to Eastern European and 
Third countries as part of the general commitment to 
reducing global air pollution. 
2.11. The Committee believes that user behaviour is 
an important and often crucial factor in achieving 
energy efficiency. 
It is not sufficient to rely on energy labelling of 
appliances to give instruction for the most efficient use 
of equipment and therefore individual guidance would 
have more effect by providing the users with infor­
mation as to how they should use the equipment more 
efficiently. 
(!) OJ No L 157, 9. 6. 1989. (2) OJ No L 185, 17. 7. 1990. 
No C 120/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 6. 5. 91 
2.12. The greatest impact in the long term will be 
achieved by training the young in schools and at home 
about using energy equipment more efficiently and a 
Community initiative on ways to disseminate this objec­
tive would be welcomed. 
2.13. Information alone does not ensure action on 
energy saving and therefore needs to be reinforced by 
incentives by Member States such as: 
— depreciation allowances for businesses in respect of 
investment in energy saving equipment, 
— incentives to householders and/or housebuilders, 
which make the installation of energy saving meas­
ures more financially attractive, 
— greater promotion oif third party finance for energy 
saving projects in both the public and private sec­
tors, 
— zero Value Added Tax (VAT) rating on measures, 
including the purchase of domestic heat generators, 
to improve energy efficiency. 
2.14. The Committee wishes to see more emphasis 
placed on least cost planning (*) where energy generat­
ing plant is installed in industry, commerce and the 
public sector. It is particularly concerned that in the 
public sector the lowest capital cost or tender is often 
taken as the main criterion for selection despite higher 
running costs. 
2.15. The Committee would draw the attention of 
energy generating enterprises to the possibility of 
satisfying growing market needs by investing also in 
more efficient energy using equipment and not only by 
investing in additional generating capacity. Therefore 
the Committee would wish the Council Decision to 
include encouragement to energy generating enterprises 
to promote more efficient use of energy. 
2.16. There is a lack of motivation in many public 
and private energy users to implement energy saving 
measures and the Committee considers that the priorit­
ies listed in Annex I of SAVE (chronology of legal 
actions and standards) and amplified in section III/C 
(Measures relating to user behaviour) of explanatory 
memorandum, should be modified and a higher priority 
given to energy audits and the appointment of energy 
managers. 
(*) Least cost planning involves examining all options open to 
the utility including investment in cost-effective demand man­
agement programmes that allows the needs of consumers to 
be met at the lowest cost. 3. Examination of Articles 
3.1. Article 1 
The Committee would refer the Council to the com­
ments made earlier under 2.5, 2.6, 2.7 and 2.13. 
3.2. Article 2 
Article 2(b) 'Training and information': the Committee 
would wish the Commission to include sectoral level 
information (e.g. paper or cement industries) as part of 
its initiatives to support Member States. 
The Committee welcomes the initiative on sectoral 
pilot measures especially those dealing with least cost 
planning and reducing inner city congestion. 
3.3. Article 4 
The Committee would refer the Council to the com­
ments made about Community funding in 2.5, 2.6 and 
2.7 above. 
3.4. Article 5 
The Committee would refer the Council to the com­
ments made in 2.4 above. 
3.5. Article 6 
The Committee would wish that all the measures outli­
ned in Article 2 namely (a), (b) and (c), should be 
included in the draft of the measures to be submitted 
to the advisory committee for an Opinion. 
3.6. Article 8 
The Committee believes that regardless of whether 
the Commission is obliged to present a report on the 
application of the present decision under the provisions 
of the Treaty, this report should nevertheless be present­
ed to the Economic and Social Committee. 
By doing so this is a further method of publicising the 
programmes activity to the Community's socioeconom­
ic sectors. 
3.7. Annex/explanatory memorandum 
The Committee notes the new title of the proposal, 
however it believes that unless more detail is published 
in the Official Journal and other publications to pro-
6. 5. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 120/9 
mote energy efficiency it is unlikely that sufficient action 
will be taken by Member States and users to develop 
this programme. 
Done at Brussels, 20 March 1991. 
1. Background 
1.1. Sweeteners are classed as food additives and fall 
into two categories: 
a) intense sweeteners like saccharin in use for over 
100 years, which are used in very small amounts; 
b) bulk sweeteners (among them sorbitol and xylitol, 
naturally present in many fruits), which are used in 
larger amounts. 
1.2. They provide a sweet taste while supplying no 
or fewer calories than the sugars which are the main 
sweetening agent in food. Moreover they do not support 
the growth of many bacteria. This means they can help 
in reducing caries (a bacterial disease) and they can also 
reduce deterioration due to bacteria in some foods. 
(]) O] No C 242, 27. 9. 1990, p. 4. The Committee therefore would suggest that the 
explanatory memorandum should also be published 
either as a part of the Decision or as an Annex. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois STAEDELIN 
Finally they have particular application in foods for 
diabetics. 
1.3. There has been an increasing consumer demand 
for foods with sweeteners, particularly: 
a) foods which taste good but which supply fewer 
calories; 
b) sweet but carbohydrate-free products which are less 
prone to cause caries. 
1.4. As a result of this consumer demand, the pro­
ducers have developed new sweeteners, often better 
adapted for a given food and have developed more 
foods with high taste acceptance containing sweeteners. 
1.5. Though driven by consumer demand, the wider 
use of sweeteners has also been promoted by medical Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive on sweeteners for use in foodstuffs (*) 
(91/C 120/03) 
On 2 October 1990 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Article 100A of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Protection of the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Affairs, which 
was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 
5 March 1991. The Rapporteur was Mr Gardner. 
At its 285th plenary session (meeting of 20 March 1991) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted unanimously the following Opinion.