WRITTEN QUESTION E-0944/00 by Jens-Peter Bonde (EDD) to the Commission. Renewable energy.
Date: 2000-03-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Denmark, environmental tax, infringement of EU law, renewable energy, tax on consumption, wind energy

C 46 E/88

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.2.2001

the Member States relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and
preparations (4) are necessary. Furthermore, Directive 98/8/EC concerning the placing of biocidal products
on the market includes wood preservatives within its scope. The Commission intends to adopt in the near
future measures to implement this Directive, and wood preservatives will be identified as a first priority for
evaluation. The question of proposing a further directive restricting the marketing of these biocides will be
considered in the light of the results of the evaluation.

Council Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December 1991 defines hazardous waste (5) in Article 1(4) first
3.
indent, as wastes placed on a list of hazardous waste. This list was established by Council Decision
94/904/EC of 22 December 1994 (6). This list does not include impregnated wood from construction and
demolition activities as a hazardous waste. Therefore, the provisions of Directive 91/689/EEC do not apply.

The same Directive indicates, in Article 1(4) second indent, that any waste a Member State considers to
display one or more of the properties of Annex III to the Directive is also a hazardous waste. Member
States have to notify such cases to the Commission. These cases must be reviewed by the Commission in
view of possible adaptation of the Community list of hazardous waste. Up to now the Commission has
received notifications from the United Kingdom and Austria which consider impregnated wood to be (at
least partly) hazardous waste. The Commission is reviewing these notifications in the context of a larger
review of the hazardous waste list on a total of approximately 300 notifications. The Commission has the
intention to present a proposal for a review of the list, before the end of the year, to the Committee
established under Article 18 of Council Directive 91/156/EEC (7) of 18 March 1991 amending Directive
75/442/EEC (8) of 15 July 1975 on waste for an opinion. This proposal will take into account the
assessment made on the notifications from the United Kingdom and Austria on impregnated wood.

Regardless of its classification as hazardous or non-hazardous waste,
impregnated wood may only be
recovered or disposed of in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of Directive 75/442/EEC, that is,
without endangering human health and without using processes or methods which could harm the
environment, and in particular without risk to water, air, soil and plants and animals, without causing a
nuisance through noise or odours, and without adversely affecting the countryside or places of special
interest

The Commission would also refer the Honourable Member to the reply given to Written Question
E-0941/00.

(1) OJ L 398, 30.12.1989.
(2) OJ L 30, 6.2.1993.
(3) OJ L 25, 28.1.1997.
(4) OJ L 262, 27.9.1976.
(5) OJ L 377, 31.12.1991.
(6) OJ L 356, 31.12.1994.
(7) OJ L 78, 26.3.1991.
(8) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975.

(2001/C 46 E/091)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0944/00

by Jens-Peter Bonde (EDD) to the Commission

(29 March 2000)

Subject: Renewable energy

Will the Commission say what progress it has made in assessing the Danish Government(cid:146)s plans to
introduce renewable energy coupons? Consumers will apparently be compelled to buy renewable energy
coupons in proportion to their consumption of electricity, which is a new form of taxation in all but
name. Does the Commission consider that these coupons are a tax on Danish consumers?

Will the Commission also say whether the CO2 levy on windmills, which are normally CO2 free,
consistent with current EU rules?

is

13.2.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 46 E/89

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(10 May 2000)

The Commission is about to complete its assessment of the Danish Government(cid:146)s plans to introduce so-
called renewable energy (RE) certificates for electricity based on renewable energy sources. A decision
should be ready in the near future.

The system with regard to RE certificates is as follows. Producers of electricity from renewable energy
sources will receive a number of RE certificates representing their total production. Consumers will be
obliged to buy RE certificates representing a certain share of their total electricity consumption. Producers
of the more expensive RE-based electricity are thereby sure to receive compensation over and above the
market price for electricity. The price of the certificates ranges between DKK 0,10 and DKK 0,27 per
kilowatt-hour (kWh) electricity they represent. The obligation to buy certificates will raise the total amount
on electricity bills for consumers, which the Honourable Member compares to a new form of taxation in
all but name. The Commission notes that the money paid for the certificates will not go to the state
budget, and therefore does not constitute a tax. It is more like a parafiscal levy, money raised in order to
finance a particular project or objective and thus benefitting certain companies, in this case electricity
producers using renewable energy sources. The Commission would like to point out that currently
producers of RE-based electricity in Denmark receive direct state subsidies, financed from tax revenue.

Moreover, the fact that a measure has an effect similar to a consumption tax does not itself have an impact
on the Commission(cid:146)s assessment of the effects of a measure on competition and the functioning of the
internal market. It is only when such a measure is not applied in a uniform manner, so that it favours
certain undertakings or the production of certain goods, that the Commission can intervene with reference
to Article 87(1) (ex-Article 92) of the EC Treaty.

The Danish carbon dioxide (CO2) tax on fuels and electricity relates to the CO2 content of the fuel. For
electricity, the tax rate relates to the CO2 content of coal, since most power plants in Denmark are coal-
fired. With a tax rate of DKK 100 per ton CO2 emitted when electricity is generated from coal, the tax for
electricity is DKK 0,10/kWh. Currently, windmills and other RE-based power plants, which emit no or very
little CO2, receive a grant of the same amount as a compensation for the tax. During the coming years,
these grants will be replaced by the minimum price of the RE-certificates, which is also DKK 0,10/kWh. In
this way it is ensured that the power plants concerned continue to be compensated for the CO2 tax.

(2001/C 46 E/092)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0945/00

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(29 March 2000)

Subject: Release of airspace

At a meeting of the federation of European civil aviation, the French representatives insisted that the steady
increase in air traffic which was responsible for delays at airports was due chiefly to the poor organisation
of existing slots and recalled that military aviation used 60 % of France(cid:146)s airspace for long periods of time.

Since the problem of flight delays affects all the Member States, will the Commission say:

1. What percentage of airspace is reserved from military use in the other Member States?

2. Do any figures exist for Greece?