WRITTEN QUESTION E-3288/00 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Strategic oil reserves.
Date: 2000-10-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Belgium, infringement of EU law, storage of hydrocarbons

22.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 151 E/121

As regards statutory systems, any Member State may adopt the relevant legislation provided that it is
compatible with the principle of free movement of goods enshrined in the EC Treaty. This decision is a
matter for the national authorities. In its judgment of 10 January 1985 in Leclerc (Case 229/83 [1985]
ECR 1) concerning French legislation as it stood at the time, the Court of Justice ruled that, in the context
of national
legislation introducing a system of fixed book prices, the following constitute measures
equivalent in effect to import restrictions prohibited by Article 30 (now Article 28) of the EC Treaty:
(cid:145)provisions whereby the importer responsible for complying with the statutory requirement to deposit one
copy of each imported book with the authorities, that is to say the principal distributor, is responsible for
fixing the retail price(cid:146) and (cid:145)provisions requiring the retail price fixed by the publisher to be applied to
books published in the Member State concerned and re-imported following exportation to another
Member State, unless it is established that those books were exported for the sole purpose of re-
importation in order to circumvent the legislation in question(cid:146).

In its judgment of 3 October 2000 in Case C-9/99, the Court of Justice confirmed that Article 3(c) and (g)
of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 3(c) and (g) EC), Articles 3a and 5 of the EC Treaty (now
Articles 4 and 10 EC), the second paragraph of Article 7a of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, the
second paragraph of Article 14 EC) and Articles 102a and 103 of the EC Treaty (now Articles 98 and 99
EC) do not preclude the application of national legislation requiring publishers to impose on booksellers
fixed prices for the resale of books.

The Commission takes the view that national systems of fixed book prices based on agreements between
firms are compatible with the Community competition rules provided that they do not significantly affect
trade between Member States. Article 81 does not apply in such situations.

Pursuant to Article 151(4) of the EC Treaty, the Community takes cultural aspects into account in its
action under other provisions of the Treaty, in particular in order to respect and to promote the diversity
of its cultures.

While not envisaging any practical measures, the Commission will ensure that, in all cases involving the
application of the principles of free movement of goods and services and the rules of competition, any
cultural aspects that arise will be taken into account.

As regards its presence at the symposium on a single price for books in Europe, organised by the French
Presidency on 29 and 30 September in Strasbourg, the Commission was represented by senior officials
from the Directorates-General for Competition and for Education and Culture.

(2001/C 151 E/136)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3288/00

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(25 October 2000)

Subject: Strategic oil reserves

Under Community law, Member States are required to maintain minimum reserves of crude oil and/or oil
products. In order to comply with this Community obligation, the governments of the Member States
require oil companies to maintain at all times a strategic reserve equivalent to ninety days(cid:146) supply. The oil
industry receives compensation from governments for the cost of maintaining the strategic reserve. In
Belgium for example, such compensation is worth approximately BEF 3 billion per annum.

According to press reports, in recent months when oil prices were high the oil industry has sold large
quantities of cheap oil from these strategic reserves at huge profit.

Does the Commission have exact figures on failure to comply with the requirement to keep strategic
reserves and is it considering legislative proposals to (i)
introduce effective penalties for such non-
compliance and (ii) ensure that fuel bought and stored when prices are low cannot be speculatively
released and sold at many times the real, original price, but instead is used to stem the price rise?

C 151 E/122

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

22.5.2001

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(8 December 2000)

Council Directive 68/414/EEC of 20 December 1968 imposing an obligation on Member States of the EEC
to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products (1) as amended by Council
Directive 98/93/EC of 14 December 1998 (2), requires Member States to maintain stocks equivalent to
90 days(cid:146) consumption for each of the three main categories of petroleum products (3) for energy uses, so
that those stocks can be used in the event of supply disruptions to replace all or part of the shortfall.
Member States have a great deal of flexibility as to how they implement these Directives. In practice,
stockholding systems and the way in which they are funded vary greatly between Member States. For
example, some Member States have set up bodies responsible for holding all or part of the stocks, while
others have not. The question by the Honourable Member refers to the situation in Belgium. As Belgium
has no stockholding agency, compliance with the Community stockholding obligation therefore depends
entirely on the stocks held by the Belgian industry in accordance with the obligations imposed on it by the
Belgian State. The cost of such stocks is borne by the industry and not by the Belgian State (4).

Belgium currently meets the Community stockholding requirement (i.e. holds stocks exceeding 90 days(cid:146)
consumption) for two of the three categories of products concerned. However, the Community 90 day
requirement is not met for category II, namely middle distillates (5). This is mainly due to the fact that in
the past, the Belgian system did not consider international aviation bunkers as giving rise to a stockholding
obligation (6). Even taking account of the fact that the current situation on the oil market is not conducive
to solving this problem, the Commission should examine it in accordance with the procedure provided for
in Article 226 (ex Article 169) of the EC Treaty.

Finally, the Honourable Member refers to the problem of stocks purchased when prices are low and sold
later at a higher price. Where the stocks form part of the mandatory stocks, they cannot be sold if no
instructions are given by the government (7).

(1) OJ L 308, 23.12.1968.
(2) OJ L 358, 31.12.1998.
(3) The stockholding of crude oil in place of products is authorised under certain conditions.
(4) Moreover, as Belgium is one of the few Member States to still apply a maximum price regime to certain petroleum
products, these maximum prices as determined by the (cid:145)programme contract(cid:146) take account of these stockholding
costs.

(5) On 31.7.2000, Belgian stocks of category I represented 101 days(cid:146) consumption, category II 83 days and category III

223 days.

(6) On 31.7.2000, stocks of jet fuel of the kerosene type were only 27 days (for other category II products: 91 days).
(7) Where the system of security stocks is based on stockholding obligations placed on industry, Member States are
required under the Community Directives to introduce mechanisms for the regular verification of compliance and a
regime of sanctions. In accordance with these mechanisms, a Belgian oil company was convicted by a Court of First
Instance in December 1998 and the sentence upheld in the Court of Appeal in October 1999.

(2001/C 151 E/137)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3291/00

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(25 October 2000)

Subject: Publicising the work of the EU

The European Union has a wide-ranging impact on social and economic life in Europe; its initiatives are
supported by a large majority of the population in most Member States, at least according to the public
opinion surveys regularly carried out by Eurostat in the 15 Member States.