Draft Council Decision regarding a Community procedure for information and consultation on crude-oil supply costs and the consumer prices of petroleum products
Date: 1998-06-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: consumer price, crude oil, petroleum product, price of energy, supply

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

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Brussels, 19.06.1998 

COM(1998) 363  final 

98/0205 (CNS) 

Draft 
COUNCIL DECISION 
regarding a Community procedure for information and consultation 
on crude-oil supply costs and the consumer prices of petroleum products 

(presented by the Commission) 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

1. 

2. 

The Commission  set up a procedure  for  information  and consultation  on the prices 
of crude  oil  and  petroleum  products1  in response  to  the Community  energy  policy 
objectives  adopted  by  the  Council  on  17 December  1974  following  the  1973 
oil crisis. 

In 1979, with the agreement of the Member States and in parallel with the efforts  of 
the  International  Energy  Agency  to  make  the  oil  market  more  transparent,  the 
Commission  decided  to  publish  each  week  for  each  Member  State  the  consumer 
prices of the main petroleum products net of duties and taxes. 

This  weekly  publication,  the  "Oil  Bulletin",  drawn  up  on  a  voluntary  basis,  has 
made  it  possible  to  improve  the  transparency  of  the  petroleum  product  prices 
charged  on the  various  markets  in the  European  Community,  and  has  contributed 
in  petroleum  products.  Several 
towards  achieving 
Member States  take  account  of  the  information  published  in  the  Bulletin  to 
calculate  the  selling  price  (net  of  duties  and  taxes)  of  certain  petroleum  products 
placed on their market. 

internal  market 

the 

3.  On  29 November  1994, the  Energy  Council  asked  the  Commission  to  review  the 
legislative texts  in the field  of energy policy. In COM(96) 320 final  on the review 
that 
of  Community 
Directive 76/491/EEC of 4 May 1976 no longer reflected  the conditions  prevailing 
on  the  oil  market,  and  proposed  repealing  the  Directive  and  replacing  it  by 
simplified  legislative provisions, acting under Article 213 of the EC Treaty. 

the  Commission 

legislation, 

considered 

energy 

4.  At  the  meeting  of  oil  price  experts  of  16 April  1997,  the  Member  States' 
representatives  agreed  to  the  Commission's  proposal  to  maintain  a  simplified 
information  system on the overall crude oil supply cost and the consumer prices of 
petroleum  products.  In  addition,  the  Member  States'  representatives  and  the 
Commission decided that as the Oil Bulletin had demonstrated  its value since 1979, 
it should be given a legal basis. 

Directive 76/491/EEC of 4 May  1976. 
Commission  Decision 77/190/EEC of 26 January  1977 implementing Directive 76/491/EEC. 
Commission  Decision 81/883/EEC of  14 October  1981 amending Decision 77/190/EEC. 

Draft 
COUNCIL DECISION 
regarding a Community procedure for information and consultation 
on crude-oil supply costs and the consumer prices of petroleum products 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article 213 thereof, 

Having regard to the draft  submitted by the Commission, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European  Parliament2, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee3, 

(1)  Whereas the establishment of a Community energy policy is one of the  objectives 
which  the  Community  has  set  itself,  and  it  is  the  task  of  the  Commission  to 
propose measures for this purpose; 

(2)  Whereas information  about crude oil supply costs should be taken into account in 

the implementation of energy policy; 

(3)  Whereas transparency of the consumer prices of petroleum products is a necessary 
condition  for the satisfactory  operation of the market, and particularly  for the  free 
movement of goods within the Community; 

(4)  Whereas  Council  Directive 76/491/EEC  of  4 May 1976 regarding  a  Community 
procedure  for  information  and  consultation  on  the  prices  of  crude  oil  and 
petroleum  products  in the  Community4  requires  Member  States to  communicate 
to the Commission information  which no longer reflects the conditions prevailing 
on  the  oil  markets,  and  it  should  therefore  be  repealed  and  replaced  by  a  new 
Community information  procedure; 

(5)  Whereas Council  Regulation (EC) No 2964/95 of 20 December  1995 introducing 
registration  for  crude-oil  imports  and  deliveries  in  the  Community5  enables  the 
Commission  to  be  informed,  in  respect  of  each  Member State,  of  the  monthly 
supply  cost  by  type  of  crude  oil  as  regards  imports  from  third  countries  or 
deliveries  from  another  Member  State  but  does  not  enable  it  to  determine  the 
overall crude oil supply cost in the Community; 

2  OJC... 
3  OJC... 
4  OJL  140, 28.5.1976, p. 4. 
5  OJL 310, 22.12.1995, p. 5. 

(6)  Whereas  it  is  therefore  necessary  to  set  up  a  Community  procedure  for 
information  and consultation on crude-oil supply costs and the consumer prices of 
petroleum  products,  so  as  to  enable  the  Community  to  have  all  relevant 
information  for  the purposes  of Community  energy policy  and for  publication  in 
the interests of market transparency; 

(7)  Whereas  this  procedure  requires  the  acquisition,  at  regular  intervals,  of  certain 
information  regarding  crude-oil  supply  costs  and  the  consumer  prices  of 
petroleum products in aggregate form at Member State level; 

(8)  Whereas,  in  order  to guarantee  the  reliability  of  the  information  collected,  such 
information  should  be  collected  direct  by  the  Member  States  from  the  oil 
companies concerned; 

(9)  Whereas the information  collected  should  make it possible to make a comparison 

of the trend in costs and oil prices charged in the Community; 

(10)  Whereas the taxes charged on petroleum products are a component  of the  selling 
price,  and  it  is  therefore  necessary,  in  order  to  ensure  the  transparency  of  the 
prices  of  those  products  and  make  a  comparison  of  the  prices  charged  in  the 
Community, to  indicate the consumer  prices of petroleum  products  net of duties 
and taxes and inclusive of all taxes; 

(11)  Whereas,  in  order  to  assess  the  trend  in  the  oil  market,  it  is  necessary  to  have 
information  about  the  crude-oil  supply  cost  on a monthly  basis  and  information 
about  the  consumer  prices  of  petroleum  products  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  each 
month and each Monday; 

(12)  Whereas  the  information  collected  and  the  results  of  the analyses  carried  out  by 
the  Commission  should  be  published  at  Community  level  in  order  to  ensure 
market  transparency  and  should  be  the  subject  of  consultation  between  the 
Member States and the Commission; 

(13)  Whereas, should the Commission find  anomalies or inconsistencies  in the  figures 
communicated  to  it,  it  should  be  able  to  obtain  from  the  Member  States  the 
relevant disaggregated information  supplied by the companies; 

(14)  Whereas the Commission should be able to specify, where appropriate, the details 

of the communications to be made, such as their form and their content, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

1.  On the basis of data communicated  to them  by the oil  companies  whose  activities 
fall  within  their  jurisdiction,  the  Member  States  shall  communicate  to  the 
Commission  information  relating to the crude-oil  supply cost CIF and the consumer 
prices of petroleum products, in the manner laid down in Article 2. 

The  information  shall  be  obtained  by  aggregating  the  data  received  by  the 
Member States  from  the companies  referred  to in the first subparagraph,  and  shall 
be presented  in such as way as to give as representative a picture as possible of each 
Member State's oil market. 

2. 

The  information  concerning  the crude-oil  supply  cost  and  the  consumer  prices  of 
petroleum products are defined  in the Annex, and the list of petroleum  products is 
given in the Annex. 

Article 2 

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the following  information: 

(a) 

concerning the monthly crude-oil supply cost CIF in the month following the end of 
the month in question; 

(b) 

concerning the consumer  prices of petroleum  products  net of duties and  taxes and 
inclusive  of  all  taxes  in  force  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  each  month,  in  the  30  days 
following the fifteenth day of the month in question; 

(c) 

concerning  the  consumer  prices  of  petroleum  products  net  of  duties  and  taxes  in 
force each Monday. 

Article 3 

Member  States  shall  take  all  necessary  steps  to  ensure  that  the  companies  whose 
activities  fall  within  their jurisdiction  provide  them  with  the  information  necessary  to 
enable them to fulfil  their obligations pursuant to Articles  1  and 2. 

Article 4 

On the basis of the information  collected pursuant to this Decision, the Commission  shall 
publish in an appropriate form: 

(a) 

each  month,  the  crude-oil  supply  cost  CIF  and  the  consumer  prices  of  petroleum 
products  net of duties  and  taxes and  inclusive  of duties  and  taxes  charged  on  the 
fifteenth  day of each month; 

(b) 

each  week,  the  consumer  prices  of  petroleum  products  net  of  duties  and  taxes 
charged on Monday. 

Article 5 

The Member States and the Commission  shall consult each other within a working party 
of  representatives  of  the  Member  States  on  the  information  collected  pursuant  to  this 
Decision.  Those  consultations  shall  relate  particularly  to  the  Commission  publications 
referred  to in Article 4. 

Article 6 

If  the  Commission  finds  that  there  are  anomalies  or  inconsistencies  in  the  information 
communicated  to  it by the  Member  States, it may ask  the  Member  States to permit  it to 
acquaint 
the 
companies,  and  with  the  calculation  and  assessment  procedures  used  to  arrive  at  the 
aggregated  information. 

relevant  disaggregated 

supplied  by 

itself  with 

information 

the 

Article 7 

The  Commission  shall  adopt  implementing  provisions  regarding  the  form,  the  content, 
and all other aspects of the communications provided  for in Article 1. 

Article 8 

Directive 76/491/EEC is hereby repealed. 

This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 

Article 9 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

ANNEX 

1. 

Definitions 

I • 

Crude-oil supply cost  OF 

The  supply  cost  within  the meaning  of Article  1 comprises all  crude-oil  imports 
plus crude oil produced and refined in the Community. 

(a) 

Imports 

"Imports"  means  all  imports  of  crude  oil  into  the  territory  of  the 
Community  for  purposes  other  than  transit  and  which  are  intended  to 
cover the needs of a Member State. 

(b) 

Crude oil produced in the European Community 

"Crude  oil  produced  in  the  European  Community"  means  all  crude  oil 
produced, refined  and marketed  in the producing Member State. 

2. 

Consumer prices of petroleum products 

(a) 

(b) 

"Consumer prices" within the meaning of Article  1 means, for  a given oil 
company, the most representative average for prices net of duties and taxes 
and inclusive of all taxes that that company actually charges to consumers 
in a given category. 

"Consumer  prices"  within  the  meaning  of  Article  1,  for  a  given 
Member State, means the most representative price levels for prices net of 
duties and  taxes  and  inclusive  of all taxes that, in that Member  State, all 
companies actually charge consumers in a given category. 

II. 

List of petroleum products 

-  motor  fuels 

-  at the pump 

-  premium leaded petrol 

-  domestic heating  fuels 

-  for small consumers 

-  heating gas oil 

-  Euro super 95 
-  diesel 
-  LPG 

-  industrial  fuels 

- for wholesale market 
deliveries 

-  heavy fuel oil (sulphur content 

over 3% but not exceeding 4%) 

-  heavy fuel oil (sulphur content 

over 1% but not exceeding 2%) 

-  fuel  oil (sulphur content not 

exceeding  1%) 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(98) 363 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

12  10  07  02 

Catalogue number  :  CB-C0-98-392-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-37240-4 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European  Communities 

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