OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on notifying the Commission of investment projects of interest to the Community in the petroleum, natural gas and electricity sectors
Date: 1995-10-26
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: electrical energy, exchange of information, investment project, natural gas, petroleum













EUR-Lex - 51995AC1172 - EN






Avis juridique important




|



51995AC1172

OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on notifying the Commission of investment projects of interest to the Community in the petroleum, natural gas and electricity sectors  


Official Journal C 018 , 22/01/1996 P. 0107 





Opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on  notifying the Commission of investment projects of interest to the Community in the petroleum,  natural gas and electricity sectors(96/C 18/20)On 19  October 1995 the Council decided to  consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article  198 of the Treaty establishing the  European Economic Community, on the above-mentioned proposal. The Economic and Social Committee decided to appoint Mr Pardon as Rapporteur-General to prepare the  Committee's work on the subject. At its 329th Plenary Session (meeting of 26 October 1995), the Economic and Social Committee  adopted the following Opinion by a large majority, with one abstention. 1. Introduction1.1. The purpose of this proposal is to update, in the light of the  present situation and of experience, the earlier regulations under which the Commission is to be  notified of investment projects of interest to the Community in the petroleum, natural gas and  electricity sectors. 1.2. This regulation is in response to the European Council in Edinburgh in  December 1992 when the  Commission gave an undertaking to check whether existing legislation needed to be brought into line  with the subsidiarity principle and amend it accordingly. 1.3. The Commission proposes to incorporate the results of the application of Regulation 1056/72,  as amended by Regulation 1215/76, into a new regulation; this will provide the Commission with  detailed information on planned energy investment projects of Community interest and thereby give  it an overall picture of the forecast trend in capacity and equipment in the Community energy  sector. 2. General comments2.1. The Committee welcomes the revision of the existing legislation and its  reformulation in a new regulation which respects the principles of transparency, simplification and  effectiveness in Community legislation. 2.2. In line with recent ESC opinions, especially those on Community energy policy (), the new  regulation, under which the fullest possible information on new investment will have to be provided  in good time, is regarded as necessary for the following reasons: 2.2.1. It is an essential element in sketching future energy scenarios which will form the basis of  any common energy policy; 2.2.2. The provision of information on future new capacity should serve to assess the progress  being made on security of supply and will be necessary for putting into practice the new guidelines  laid out in the directives on the creation of an internal market in the electricity and gas  sectors; 2.2.3. The provision of the information and its dissemination will help indirectly to avoid  duplication of capacity in sectors with high intensity/long construction periods for  installations. 2.3. The Committee considers that the information required under the regulation must comply solely  with the requirements of energy policy and equipment manufacture planning. With this in mind, it  would stress that such information should help to improve environmental protection. 2.4. The Commission's analyses in its annual report on investment of Community interest in the  sectors concerned () reveal certain problems as regards the provision of the data within the  deadlines set and their representativeness. In this connection the Committee welcomes the  amendments made, as regards the reduction of the quantity of information required and the extension  of the deadlines for reaching the Commission. This will lead to higher quality information and help  to achieve the objectives of this regulation. 2.5. The Committee welcomes the amendments introduced in the new regulation as regards the projects  of common interest in trans-European energy networks, in keeping with the guidelines laid down in  Article  129c of the EU Treaty. In the Committee's view this will make for greater cohesion and  facilitate the functioning of a genuine internal market in energy. 2.6. The Committee considers it necessary to undertake as soon as possible the revision of  Regulation 3025/77, which provides for the practical implementation of Regulation 1056/76, in line  with the new elements introduced in this regulation and the Committee's own proposals. 3. Specific comments3.1. As far as obtaining the information is concerned, the new wording of  Article  1 leaves it up to the Member States to decide whether to request the information directly  from firms or to obtain it by other means. In the Committee's view, this freedom introduces an  element of ambiguity contrary to the transparency pursued in the new regulation. The Committee  therefore thinks that the proposed text should be drafted much more clearly so as to leave no doubt  whatsoever as to its respect for the principle of subsidiarity and the objective of administrative  simplification. At all events, even if the Member State decides freely on the source of data, it  must indicate their origin in accordance with the principle of transparency. 3.2. The regulation maintains a minimum notification capacity for thermal power stations of 200 MW  (Annex 1, point 3). The Committee thinks that this threshold could be too high if account is taken  of the spread of the new units using combined cycle technology which are usually smaller. 3.3. Private investment may involve commercial confidentiality which must be respected. The Committee would recall in this context the Opinion adopted on 31 January 1990 on the notifying  of the Commission of investment projects of interest to the Community in the petroleum, natural gas  and electricity sectors (). 3.4. In Article  3 the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee should be included  among the recipients of the summary of the information obtained under the regulation. Done at Brussels, 26  October 1995. The Presidentof the Economic and Social CommitteeCarlos FERRER() ESC Opinion  of 14. 9. 1994, OJ No C 393, 31. 12. 1994, pp. 95 foll.; ESC Opinion of 5. 7. 1995, OJ No C 256, 2. 10. 1995, p. 34.  () SEC(94) 1918 final.  () OJ No C 73, 26. 3. 1990, p. 26.