WRITTEN QUESTION E-1968/99 by Piia-Noora Kauppi (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Definition of peat in the Directive on the taxation of energy products.
Date: 1999-11-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU market, Finland, Northern Europe, energy-generating product, natural resources, peat, proposal (EU), renewable energy, tax system

8.8.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 225 E/39

Answer given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(7 December 1999)

Within the Commission the environment Directorate general oversees the implementation of the Natura
2000 network.

Natura 2000, the European ecological network of special areas of conservation, involves sites designated
under two environmental directives. Special protection areas (SPAs) are designated by Member States under
Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds (1), and the Commission is
notified. Under Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild
fauna and flora (2) Member States propose sites of Community interest (SCIs) and later designate them.

The identification and selection of sites as well as definition of their boundaries for inclusion in Natura
2000 is exclusively a scientific exercise. Single landowners do not therefore have a role in this exercise. All
data on the sites identified in Austria were formally communicated to the Commission by the Austrian
authorities in application of the relevant criteria. There is no mechanism foreseen in the directives for the
withdrawal of designated or nominated sites by Member States. However, should objections on a scientific
basis occur, these should be brought to the attention of the Commission by the Member State.

Seventy-three sites have been formally designated as SPAs in Austria, of which nineteen are in Lower
Austria, and 113 sites have been formally proposed as SCIs in Austria, of which nineteen are in Lower
Austria. For details on each site the Honourable Member is kindly invited to address the Austrian
authorities.

As far as detailed information on consequences for landowners is concerned,
it should be noted that
directives are binding as to the result to be achieved, but leave to the national authorities the choice of
form and methods. The Natura 2000 network is based on the principle of subsidiarity. It is up to the
Member States to determine how best to conserve the sites that are identified as being of Community
importance. The consultation of landowners is not mentioned in the directives and is a matter for the
Austrian authorities to decide. Any decision on whether or not to consult and its consequences, including
the fulfilment of international treaties, is up to them.

The inclusion of areas in Natura 2000 is not intended as a block on human activities. The emphasis is on
ensuring that human activities are sustainable and not damaging to the conservation values. Management
plans, involving owners and users, can be a valuable tool in addressing this objective.

(1) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.
(2) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.

(2000/C 225 E/039)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1968/99

by Piia-Noora Kauppi (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 November 1999)

Subject: Definition of peat in the Directive on the taxation of energy products

In its proposal for a Council Directive restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy
products (COM(97) 0030 (cid:129) C4-0155/97 (cid:129) 97/0111(CNS)) (1), the Commission also deals with the
taxation of peat. In Finland, for example, peat bogs are an important natural resource, and the turf squares
cut out from them cover some 7 % of Finland(cid:146)s energy requirement. Some 6 500 people derive their
livelihood either directly or indirectly from peat production. As yet, peat has not been classified as a
renewable energy source like wood. In fact, peat is a renewable natural resource comparable with wood,
with a longer cycle of renewal.

The use of peat is essential if we are seeking to use renewable natural resources in energy production.
Without the co-use of peat, wood-burning boilers could not be sufficiently productive and would not be
profitable. Peat is only used in local energy production, and thus has no influence on the European internal
market.

C 225 E/40

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

8.8.2000

What does the Commission intend to do to ensure that the energy taxation directive currently in
preparation takes account of the importance of peat in regional energy production? Does the Commission
propose in future to define peat as an intrinsically renewable resource? Does the Commission intend to
ensure that the efficient use of peat remains possible in future for the purpose of energy production in the
Nordic countries?

(1) OJ C 139, 6.5.1997, p. 14.

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 December 1999)

The Commission proposal for a Council directive on a Community framework for the taxation of energy
products, mentioned by the Honourable Member, deals with all energy products,
including peat. Peat
whether or not agglomerated is covered by article 2, paragraph 1(c) of the proposal as falling under
combined nomenclature code number 27 03.

The Commission considers that the proposed directive establishes a flexible Community framework for the
taxation of energy products such as peat, which makes it possible for Member States to restructure their
national tax systems to attain national objectives in environment, employment, transport and energy
policies, while respecting a key Community achievement: the single market.

The Commission further considers that fuel peat has specific characteristics which makes it difficult to
classify. As an organic material formed over several thousand years by the accumulation of plant debris
under anaerobic water-logged conditions, peat contains most of the organic compounds of the original
plants which formed it and could therefore be regarded as an organic based fuel. Nevertheless, the
Commission, due to the renewal time of several thousand years, does not consider fuel peat as an
intrinsically renewable resource. This is in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change (IPCC)
Guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories under the United Nations framework Convention on
climate change (UNFCCC).

The Commission is aware of the importance of peat as a regional energy resource, which contributes to
energy supplies,
in particular in isolated areas. Security of energy supplies is one of the key energy
objectives pursued by the Commission. Diversification and exploitation of indigenous energy resources,
including the use of peat in the Nordic Member States and elsewhere in the Community, is an important
policy in this respect. Moreover, national policies that combine production of peat with conservation of
significant peatland areas and an appropriate implementation of an after-use policy could have a positive
life-cycle impact on overall greenhouse gas emissions from peat production and use.

The role of peat as an energy source is further analysed in a technical and scientific study commissioned
by the Commission, entitled (cid:145)Evaluation of the fuel peat industry in the enlarged European Union(cid:146) and
carried out jointly by a number of peat research organisations in the Community. A copy of the study is
forwarded to the Honourable Member as well as to the Secretariat General of the Parliament.

(2000/C 225 E/040)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1980/99

by Markus Ferber (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 November 1999)

Subject: Polish tariffs on yoghurt imported from the EU

Polish tariffs have been progressively phased out as part of the Europe Agreement. The tariffs on fruit
yoghurts gave fallen from 35 % in 1995 to 30 % (1996), 25 % (1997), 20 % (1998) to the current level of
9-12 %. In April 1999 the Polish authorities abolished the 9 % preferential tariff for fruit yoghurt with a fat
content greater than 3,5 %, since when the GATT tariff of 35 % has applied.