OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on: the proposal for a Council Regulation repealing Regulation No 388/75/EEC on notifying the Commission of exports of crude oil and natural gas to third countries, the proposal for a Council Regulation repealing Regulation No 1055/72 (EEC) on notifying the Commission of imports of crude oil and natural gas, the proposal for a Council Regulation repealing Regulation No 1038/79/EEC on Community support for a hydrocarbon exploration project in Greenland, the proposal for a Council Decision repealing recommendation 79/167/ECSC, EEC, Euratom on the reduction of energy requirements for buildings in the Community
Date: 1995-10-26
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU law, energy law, energy policy, energy saving, petroleum policy













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51995AC1170

OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on: the proposal for a Council Regulation repealing Regulation No 388/75/EEC on notifying the Commission of exports of crude oil and natural gas to third countries, the proposal for a Council Regulation repealing Regulation No 1055/72 (EEC) on notifying the Commission of imports of crude oil and natural gas, the proposal for a Council Regulation repealing Regulation No 1038/79/EEC on Community support for a hydrocarbon exploration project in Greenland, the proposal for a Council Decision repealing recommendation 79/167/ECSC, EEC, Euratom on the reduction of energy requirements for buildings in the Community  


Official Journal C 018 , 22/01/1996 P. 0103 





Opinion on: - the proposal for a Council Regulation repealing Regulation No  388/75/EEC on notifying the  Commission of exports of crude oil and natural gas to third countries, - the proposal for a Council Regulation repealing Regulation No  1055/72 (EEC) on notifying the  Commission of imports of crude oil and natural gas, - the proposal for a Council Regulation repealing Regulation No 1038/79/EEC on Community support  for a hydrocarbon exploration project in Greenland, - the proposal for a Council Decision repealing recommendation 79/167/ECSC, EEC, Euratom on the  reduction of energy requirements for buildings in the Community(96/C 18/19)On 20  October  1995, the Council of the European Union, acting in pursuance of Article  198 of the Treaty  establishing the European Community, decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee on the  above-mentioned proposals. The Committee instructed Mr von der Decken, acting as Rapporteur-General, to prepare its work on  the matter. At its 329th Plenary Session (meeting of 26  October 1995), the Economic and Social Committee  adopted (by a majority vote with one abstention) the following Opinion. 1. Introduction1.1. The proposals under consideration are part of the review of EU  legislation in the energy sector and constitute a first step on the road towards a reduction,  simplification and, where necessary, an updating of legislation in this field. The proposals are  accompanied by a Commission Report reviewing Community energy legislation. 1.2. It should however be noted that this review is not complete. The Commission's appraisal will  initially be confined to rational use of energy and oil. Furthermore the appraisal will take in  only part of the relevant legislation, namely 17 basic legal instruments, the majority of which  were adopted in 1972 and 1976, 15  by the Council and two by the Commission. 1.3. The Commission's conclusions have led it to recommend that ten of the instruments be repealed  and that the others remain in force, three of them on a temporary basis. 1.3.1. Council action will be required in the case of eight of the ten instruments to be repealed.  As the Economic and Social Committee was consulted under the legislative procedure for four of the  instruments, consultation of the Committee is likewise required if they are to be repealed.  Consultation is not required in the case of the four other proposals submitted to the Council. The  eight proposals concerned are set out in a Communication accompanying the Commission's Report. 1.3.2. The Commission justifies the proposed repeal of these instruments - seven of which concern  the rational use of energy, while three relate to the field of oil - mainly on the grounds (a) that  they no longer have any practical value, or (b) that they have been superseded by the development  of the legislative process. 1.4. Council endorsement of the Commission's conclusions would also involve the repeal of four  implementing Regulations, one of which was issued by the Council and three by the Commission. 1.5. In this same report, the Commission proposes that implementing Decision No  77/190/EEC and the  subsequent amendments to this Decision be simplified, along with Directive 76/491/EEC of 4  May  1976 with regard to a Community information and consultation procedure in respect of the price of  oil and oil-based products in the Community. 1.6. Two Council Resolutions on the rational use of energy are also regarded as being superfluous  as, in the meantime, their provisions have been incorporated in a binding legal instrument. As it  is not possible to repeal measures which are not themselves legislative instruments, the Commission  proposes that in future no further reference be made to these Resolutions in legislation and that  they no longer be published. 1.7. The Report under review, and the accompanying proposals to repeal legislation, constitute the  Commission's initial response to the request made by the Energy Council on 29  November 1994 that  the Commission submit (a) a report assessing Community instruments in the Energy Sector and (b),  where necessary, proposals designed to simplify and reduce Community legislation. At the same time  the Council Presidency drew up an initial list of legislative instruments to be reviewed and it is  precisely these very acts which are covered by the Report. 1.7.1. In taking this action, the Commission has also fulfilled the commitment which it made,  notably at the European Council in Brussels in  December 1993, not only to review the whole body of  Community legislation from the point of view, in particular, of conformity with the subsidiarity  principle, but also, where appropriate, to propose that legislation be made less onerous and  simplified in order a) to remove the unnecessary or excessive regulatory constraints on the  European economy, b) ensure that the legislation concerned serves a practical purpose and, thereby,  c) enhance the effectiveness of the legislation and render it more comprehensible. 1.7.2. This commitment followed on from the calls made at the European Councils in Lisbon in  June  1992 and in Edinburgh in  December 1992 for action to prune and simplify Community legislation. 1.8. In tandem with the proposals under consideration and as part of the same review, the  Commission proposes that Council Regulation 1056/72/EEC, as amended by Regulation 1215/76/EEC be  revamped and simplified with a view to rendering the Regulation more readily comprehensible and to  deriving the maximum possible benefit from the data compiled. The Regulation concerns notification  to the Commission of investment projects of interest to the Community in the petroleum, natural gas  and electricity sectors. 1.8.1. This latter proposal, on which the Committee has also been consulted, together with an  explanation of the reasons for its submission, is set out in a separate Commission document  (COM(95) 118 final). 1.9. Finally it should also be noted that the Commission intends to continue this review of energy  legislation and to extend it to other sectors not covered by the present Report. 2. General comments2.1. The Commission's review of Community legislation in the energy field is  an exercise which is both useful and timely. In the interests of greater transparency, it would  have been preferable for the Commission to have indicated who drew up the list of instruments to be  reviewed, how the list was drawn up and why the measures concerned were selected. 2.2. The Committee would also like to see a brief description given of the energy-policy background  to this review and subsequent reviews. 2.3. The Committee warns against the danger of EU energy policy being called into question should  this review, under the guise of a drive to prune and simplify legislation, lead to a wholesale  repeal in some areas of Community legislation in the energy field. The Committee emphasizes the  fact that such a review will be fully meaningful only if it seeks to make Community action in this  field more relevant, consistent and effective, for the purposes, in particular, of attaining the  energy policy objectives last laid down by the European Union in 1986 (). 2.4. The Committee has taken due note of the reasons for the proposed repeal of the legislation in  question, as set out in the Commission's communication; it endorses the proposals, in particular,  those on which it has been formally asked to deliver an Opinion. The Committee has no specific  comments to make with regard to the individual proposals. 2.5. From the general point of view, the Committee would point out first of all that the repeal of  the instruments in question smacks more of an exercise in 'tidying up' legislation than of a  measure which will help to genuinely simplify existing Community legislation. The fact that most of  the instruments in question are already obsolete serves to confirm this interpretation, if such  confirmation were necessary. 2.6. By way of example, attention is drawn to the fact that in the field of rational use of energy,  the areas covered by the five recommendations to be repealed came within the scope of Directive  93/76/EEC of 13  September 1993, which seeks to limit carbon dioxide emissions by improving energy  efficiency (SAVE) (). 2.6.1. In the light of this case, the Committee would urge that, wherever appropriate, all  instruments should include provisions repealing existing legislation which is thereby rendered  obsolete. 2.6.2. The Committee further deplores the inadequacy of the Commission's reasons for proposing that  Recommendation 77/713/EEC () and Directive 78/170/EEC () remain in force, as this makes it  difficult to weigh up the case for retaining these measures. The Commission's report does not  contain any evidence whatsoever to substantiate the view that the instruments in question remain  relevant to the goal of securing a rational use of energy and the pursuit of the specific  objectives which they are designed to achieve. The fact that they have been only partially  superseded by the development of the legislative process is not in itself an adequate reason for  retaining them. 2.6.3. This applies in particular to Directive 78/170/EEC; the Commission itself has drawn  attention to the original shortcomings in the Directive and its subsequent patchy implementation by  the Member States. 2.6.4. The Committee has no doubt that the Commission has of course assessed the extent to which it  would be both useful and advisable to keep the instruments concerned in force in the light of both  the EU's energy objectives and the specific objectives of the instruments themselves. There is  therefore no reason for failing to make reference, if only briefly, to both the substantive and  administrative reasons behind the Commission's decision. Such a step would also have fully met the  need for transparency which should, in the Committee's view, be the prime consideration in any  review of current Community legislation. 2.6.5. The Committee therefore calls upon the Commission to continue its review of legislation in  the field of rational energy use and to issue a report on the extent to which Member States are in  practice implementing the instruments listed below - including the implementing provisions - and to  review the relevance and the advisability of (a) maintaining these measures, (b) replacing them by  more binding EU provisions, (c) revising them, or, (d) repealing them: - Council Regulation No 76/494/EEC of 4  May 1976 on the rational use, through better driving  habits, of energy consumed by road vehicles (); - Council Recommendation No 76/495/EEC of 4  May 1976 on the rational use of energy in urban  passenger transport (); - Council Recommendation No 77/714/EEC of 25  October 1977 on the creation in the Member States of  Advisory Bodies or Committees to promote combined heat and power production and the exploitation of  residual heat (); - Council Recommendation No 82/604/EEC of 28  July 1982 concerning the encouragement of investment  in the rational use of energy (). 2.7. In the field of oil legislation, the Committee notes that the Commission is recommending that  several instruments be kept on the statute book on a temporary basis, even though they have largely  ceased to serve any practical purpose. All of the measures concerned are designed to enable the  European Union to cope with supply problems in respect of oil and derivative products, until such  time as the Council adopts new emergency legislation in this field. 2.7.1. The Committee would point out that the Commission's current arsenal of laws for coping with  energy crises is not confined to the three Decisions reviewed in the Commission Report. A number of  other instruments also figure in the list, including the following: - Council Directive No  68/414/EEC of 20  December 1968 requiring the EEC Member States to maintain  minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products (); - Council Directive No  68/416/EEC of 20 december 1968 on the conclusion and implementation of  specific intergovernmental agreements on the obligation for Member States to maintain minimum  stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products (); - Council Directive No  73/238/EEC of 24  July 1973 on measures to mitigate the effects of  difficulties in the supply of crude oil and petroleum products (); - Council Directive 75/405/EEC concerning the restriction of the use of petroleum products in power  stations (). 2.7.2. The Committee calls for the swift adoption of a new set of laws in this field which would  (a) meet the needs of the internal market, (b) take full account of the structural changes in the  oil market over the last twenty years and (c) tie in closely with the measures provided for within  the framework of the International Energy Agency. In the Committee's view the adoption of such  legislation should make a significant contribution to pruning and simplifying Community legislation  in this area. 2.7.3. It is thus a matter or regret that the Council has so far been unable to reach any agreement  on such measures; the Commission's latest proposals in this field go back as far as  April 1992. In  this context, the Committee notes the statement made by the Commission in the Report that it had  started to look at this field with a view to putting forward new proposals as soon as possible. 2.7.4. The Committee draws attention to the urgent need to act in order to equip the European Union  with the essential, appropriate instruments to cope with any energy supply difficulty without delay  and to manage such situations effectively. 2.7.5. The Committee nonetheless does ask itself whether there is a case for keeping laws on the  statute book - albeit on a temporary basis - on the sole grounds that they have yet to be replaced  by measures which are more appropriate and accord better with the rules set out in the Treaties and  secondary legislation. 2.7.6. In this context, the first point which needs to be highlighted is that, as the Commission  acknowledges, the reasons for introducing the three instruments in question are, for the most part,  no longer applicable. 2.7.7. Furthermore, it would appear that doubts may legitimately be cast on the compatibility of at  least one of the instruments in question with the Treaty provisions in respect of the internal  market. Council Decision 77/186/EEC of 14  February 1977 on the exporting of crude oil and  petroleum products from one Member State to another in the event of supply difficulties (),  stipulates that such exports shall be subject to a system of licences. Such a provision cannot  easily be reconciled with the current level of European integration and, in particular, the removal  of border controls. ()2.7.8. This being the case, the Committee wonders whether consideration should not be given to  the repeal of these three instruments too, since to keep them in force temporarily is unwarranted,  in terms of benefit to the Community. 2.8. Finally, the Committee would point out that it fully endorses the Commission's intention to  extend its review of Community legislation in the energy field to sectors not covered by the  present Report. 2.8.1. With this aim in view, the Committee urges that future reports presented by the Commission  explicitly state not only why it proposes to repeal some of the instruments which it has reviewed  but also why it is recommending that other instruments remain on the Statue Book. Done at Brussels, 26  October 1995. The Presidentof the Economic and Social CommitteeCarlos FERRER() See OJ No C  241, 25. 9. 1986, p. 1.  () See OJ No L 237, 22. 9. 1993, p. 28.  () Council Recommendation of 25. 10. 1977 on the rational use of energy in industrial undertakings  - OJ No  L 296, 18. 11. 1977, p. 3.  () Council Directive of 13. 2. 1978 on the performance of heat generators for space heating and the  production of hot water in new or existing non-industrial buildings and on the insulation of heat  and domestic hot-water distribution in new non-industrial buildings - OJ No  L  52, 23. 2. 1978, p.  32.  () OJ No L 140, 28. 5. 1976, p. 14.  () OJ No L 140, 28. 5. 1976, p. 16.  () OJ No L 295, 18. 11. 1977, p. 5.  () OJ No L 247, 23. 8. 1982, p. 9.  () OJ No L 308, 23. 12. 1968, p. 14.  () OJ No L 308, 23. 12. 1968, p. 19.  () OJ No L. 228, 16. 8. 1973, p. 1.  () OJ No L 178, 9. 7. 1975, p. 26.  () OJ No L 61, 5 .3. 1977, p. 23.