WRITTEN QUESTION E-3357/00 by Sergio Berlato (UEN) to the Commission. Unfair taxation in the energy sector.
Date: 2000-10-27
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Italy, auction sale, competition, electrical energy, energy supply, import, liberalisation of the market, petroleum, price of energy

C 163 E/98

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2001

(2001/C 163 E/105)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3355/00

by Robert Goebbels (PSE) to the Commission

(27 October 2000)

Subject: Committee of Experts on reform of the Commission

I would like to thank the President of the Commission for his answer, given on 6 October 2000, to my
the task carried out by the Committee of
Question E-2645/00 (1) concerning (cid:145)the overall cost of
Independent Experts on reform of the Commission(cid:146). In its answer, the Commission arrives at a total cost
of € 176 634,05, not including the various contributions in kind provided by Parliament.

However, the Commission omits to answer my question on the allowances, travel and subsistence expenses
and other emoluments received individually by the five experts.
In the interests of the transparency
advocated by these experts, could the Commission also supply this part of the answer to the question?

(1) OJ C 113 E, 18.4.2001, p. 142.

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(11 December 2000)

The Commission has taken note of the Honourable Member(cid:146)s request for further information.

As the Commission explained in its answer to Written Question E-2645/00, the financial and practical
implications of the activities of the Committee of Independent Experts were determined by Parliament. The
Commission was involved only indirectly in covering the Committee(cid:146)s expenses, as Parliament was directly
responsible for the operational management of the contracts and all aspects of the Committee(cid:146)s operation.

For these reasons, the Commission believes that only Parliament is in a position to provide full and precise
details of the operating expenses incurred by the Committee and of the individual distribution of the
various allowances, travel and subsistence expenses and other emoluments received by the five members.

(2001/C 163 E/106)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3357/00

by Sergio Berlato (UEN) to the Commission

(27 October 2000)

Subject: Unfair taxation in the energy sector

Given that:

1. The liberalisation of the electricity market launched under the (cid:145)Bersani Decree(cid:146) has not yet been
properly implemented owing to ongoing supply-side shortages, which have led to prices rising
towards the maximum permitted market value.

2.

Electricity costs have been further increased by the rise in oil prices.

3. The system is made still more rigid by half of the already limited import capacity being earmarked for
long-term import contracts concluded by ENEL which were already in place at the start of the
liberalisation process and by the fact that in 2001 the remaining capacity will be auctioned off under
a procedure that is to include the setting of duties, which will lead to a rise in imported energy prices.

4. The new pricing structure introduced by the Energy and Gas Authority has led to a further increase in

controlled prices.

6.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 163 E/99

5. This situation distorts competition in that it penalises Italian companies, which are obliged to bear
higher costs than their competitors in other European countries in which the market has been fully
liberalised.

Does the Commission intend to take action to restore a proper balance in this sector, with a view to
enabling Italian companies to remain competitive?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(6 December 2000)

The Commission is closely following the ongoing liberalisation process in the electricity sector in Italy and
shares the concern expressed by the Honourable Member with regard to the increase in electricity prices
and the risks that that would hold for the competitiveness of Italian firms.

With regard to the supply problems referred to by the Honourable Member as one of the causes of rather
high prices for eligible clients, the setting up of a competitive supply structure is inevitably a slow process
which will depend primarily on new entrants coming onto the electricity supply market and providing
an alternative to ENEL S.p.A., the former monopoly holder. The rules contained in the Bersani decree
(DL No 79, 16 March 1999) relating to the sale of 15 000 megawatt (MW) in production capacity, should
help to broaden the range of suppliers, provided that these rules are implemented quickly and openly.

Electricity imports would also create competitiveness were it not for the obstacle presented by limited
interconnection capacity, as the Honourable Member rightly points out. The Commission has started an
ex officio procedure (COMP/E-3/37937) into the problem of the reserve interconnection capacity for long-
term import contracts. The matter is currently being examined and at this stage, the outcome cannot be
predicted. Together with the European regulators the Commission is studying the various methods for
allocating interconnection capacity, with a view to finding non-discriminatory solutions which would not
hinder the electricity trade between Member States and which would develop interconnection capacity.
Sale by auction could, under certain conditions, meet these requirements although it would lead to higher
prices for imported electricity.

The Commission has carefully watched the increases in oil prices which the Honourable Member mentions
as one of the causes of high electricity prices. It has prepared a communication on oil supplies in the
Union (1) and it is drafting a document on the security of energy supplies.

The Commission, in conjunction with national competition authorities, is continuing to apply the rules on
competition to the energy sector both carefully and rigorously.

(1) COM(2000) 631.

(2001/C 163 E/107)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3362/00

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(27 October 2000)

Subject: Slave labour in India, Nepal and Pakistan

Debt bondage, whereby people become bonded labourers when they take out a loan and are thereafter
forced to work long hours for little or no pay, is common practice in India, Nepal and Pakistan.

Will the European Commission bring pressure to bear on the governments of these countries to stop such
practices? Has this issue been raised during multilateral talks with India, Nepal and Pakistan?