WRITTEN QUESTION P-2335/00 by Maria Berger (PSE) to the Commission. Suspected violation of Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community: electricity exports of the Temelin nuclear plant operator, CEZ.
Date: 2000-07-04
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Czechia, anti-dumping legislation, electrical energy, extra-EU trade

3.4.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 103 E/123

(2001/C 103 E/137)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2335/00

by Maria Berger (PSE) to the Commission

(4 July 2000)

Subject: Suspected violation of Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 on protection against dumped imports
from countries not members of the European Community: electricity exports of the Temelin
nuclear plant operator, CEZ

There are good grounds to suspect a case of price dumping and of cross-subsidisation by Czech
consumers.

For years electricity production in the Czech Republic has been declining (cid:129) according to Czech consumer
statistics it has been falling at a steady rate (2.6 % in 1999). Electricity exports by the operator of the
Temelin nuclear plant, CEZ, have on the other hand increased enormously, and in the first quarter of 2000
reached a record level of 3 100 GWh. According to the CEZ authorities, electricity exports are expected to
rise to 12 000 GWh this year.

A comparison of the average earnings from exports to Germany of 367 KC/MWh and the average
production price of CEZ of 864 KC/MWh shows that electricity is being exported at a price far below the
production costs (earnings amounted to a mere 41,8 % of production costs).

1.

Has the Commission already launched an investigation into this matter?

Has there been any violation of Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 (1) of 22 December 1995 on

2.
protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community?

(1) OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1.

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(25 July 2000)

No anti-dumping proceeding has been initiated concerning imports of electricity from the Czech Republic.

The Commission may propose the initiation of anti-dumping proceedings only when sufficient evidence of
injurious dumping exists, as laid down in Article 5 of the Basic Anti-dumping Regulation (Council
Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 December 1995 (1), as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 2331/
96 of 2 December 1996 (2) and Council Regulation (EC) No 905/98 of 27 April 1998 (3)).

Normally, such evidence is presented by the Community industry in the form of a complaint. If a
complaint is indeed lodged with the Commission, it will carefully analyse it. The Commission is at the
industry(cid:146)s disposal should Community producers wish to receive information on any substantive or
procedural issues concerning the lodging of complaints.

Within 45 days after the lodging of a complaint, the Commission may initiate an anti-dumping proceeding
in order to investigate the allegations made by the Community industry. There also are fixed deadlines for
the duration of investigations. If warranted, measures may be imposed provisionally up to 9 months after
initiation and definitively no later than 15 months after initiation.

(1) OJ L 56, 6.3.1996.
(2) OJ L 317, 6.12.1996.
(3) OJ L 128, 30.4.1998.