WRITTEN QUESTION E-3287/00 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Gas prices.
Date: 2000-10-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: competition, domestic market, energy consumption, natural gas, petroleum, price of energy

C 163 E/80

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2001

As regards the specific situation of the web-site www.unioneuropea.com, the Commission is aware of the
misrepresentation and potential abuse that may arise if a web-site, apparently representing the Union, is
used in this way. The Commission believes that the site referred to no longer contain pornographic
material, following a complaint to the company hosting this web-site.

The site in question is not an official Community site. However, the Commission is prepared to take
appropriate action to defend its rights and prerogatives and the Commission has been actively participating
in international efforts to address this kind of problem, undertaken mainly by the International corporation
for assigned names and numbers (ICANN) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). These
have started with the trademarks problem, but are currently being extended to include other categories of
names including persons(cid:146) and geographic names. The Commission will also propose, in the context of
the.eu domain name that will become available next year, a code of conduct aiming at preventing such
abuses within the Community.

Regarding illegal content, the primary responsibility for taking action against such sites rests with the
appropriate law enforcement and judicial authorities of the Member States, irrespective of whether such
sites refer specifically to the Community, or not. Regarding adult pornographic material that should not be
available for minors, please refer to first paragraph, above. With a view to ensure that Members States
have effective sanctions in place to combat the diffusion of child pornographic images on the Internet, the
Commission has recently introduced a proposal for a Council Framework Decision which will include
provisions for the approximation of laws and sanctions of the Member States in the field of the sexual
exploitation of children, with particular reference to child pornography on the Internet.

The Commission has already published material on the Web regarding the multiannual Community action
plan referred to under first paragraph, above, with particular reference to material referring to the labelling
and filtering of sites appropriate for minors.

(1) OJ L 33, 6.2.1999.
(2) OJ L 270, 7.10.1998.

(2001/C 163 E/084)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3287/00

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(25 October 2000)

Subject: Gas prices

Because the Belgian distributor has indexed natural-gas prices to oil prices, households in Belgium are
likely to be paying up to 20 % more for their gas by the end of this year than they were in 1999.
However, the two energy sources are not interchangeable from the point of view of the domestic
consumer, as domestic burners are not compatible with both.

Does it accord with Community competition law and with liberalisation of the gas industry to include in
the pricing of gas an element of indexation to the long-term price of crude oil, in addition to charging
such fixed costs as transport?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(29 November 2000)

Gas prices have traditionally been indexed to oil prices because gas can be substituted for oil, and to allow
natural gas to penetrate in oil dominated market segments. In the absence of gas-to-gas competition, gas
prices in Europe therefore closely follow oil price developments on the world market, albeit with a couple
of months delay. This fuel price inter-relationship affects the consumer through the tariffs applied for gas
consumption.

6.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 163 E/81

The current high oil prices, combined with the traditional oil linkage of gas pricing in Europe, have made
particularly apparent the potential benefits of gas-to-gas competition, a key element in the creation of the
internal energy market, and have reinforced the need to speed up the completion of the internal energy
market.

An effective opening of the European gas market and a real choice of supplier for all eligible customers
form the necessary framework for creating supply side competition and hence for achieving real gas-to-gas
competition.

The Community interest requires gas-to-gas competition to continue to develop, thereby decoupling the
oil/gas price relationship. Directive 98/30/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998
concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas (1) already envisages the development of
gas-to-gas competition through the right of eligible customers to get third party access to networks,
including upstream pipelines right up to the wellhead. However, accelerating the opening up of the gas
market to competition in order to achieve a fully operational internal market would further facilitate gas-
to-gas competition. In this respect, the experience of other countries has shown that when increasing
numbers of eligible customers can source competitively, gas producers will be forced increasingly to
compete with one another in terms of price.

The Commission, therefore, considers it crucial to accelerate the completion of the internal energy market,
as requested by the Lisbon European Council. The oil linkage of gas prices, coupled with the economic
effects it produces, is, in itself, a legitimate reason for ensuring that the internal gas market develops
rapidly and to the benefit of all Community citizens.

(1) OJ L 204, 21.7.1998.

(2001/C 163 E/085)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3293/00

by Francesco Speroni (TDI) to the Commission

(25 October 2000)

Subject: Failure to comply with the Schengen agreement

The Italian civil aviation authorities oblige persons travelling to countries that have signed the Schengen
treaty from Italian airports without customs facilities, airfields and helipads to comply with various
formalities precluded by that agreement.

For example, circular 133/U of 21 April 1999, issued by the Bergamo-Orio al Serio Air Traffic Control
office, provides for authorisation to be given for the purpose of carrying out frontier controls and
explicitly states that these should apply to all flights, regardless of whether they involve Schengen or
non-Schengen countries.

Do these provisions comply with the Schengen treaty and, if not, what action does the Commission intend
to take to ensure that the Italian civil aviation authorities also observe that agreement?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(7 December 2000)

The Commission is not aware of the circular and the facts referred to by the Honourable Member. It is
conducting an enquiry in the Member State in question and will inform the Honourable Member of its
findings.