WRITTEN QUESTION E-3423/00 by Ioannis Marínos (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Fuel tax charges in Greece.
Date: 2000-11-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Greece, common commercial policy, fuel tax

C 174 E/52

Official Journal of the European Communities

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19.6.2001

Under its French Director-General Verrue, in November 1999 more than one in five senior posts in DG
XIII were occupied by French nationals. It also turns out that staff of other nationalities have not moved up
the hierarchy as fast as the French have.

There are fears that with French occupants in senior posts in the IT Directorate, French undertakings such
as Alcatel, Bell and France Telecom will have a greater voice in IT, telecommunications and communica-
tions matters.

Does the Commission share these fears, and what is it doing to ensure the more even distribution among
the Member States of senior posts in DG XII?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(20 December 2000)

The Commission acts solely in the interest of the service and without regard to nationality when
appointing officials. This principle is guaranteed under the staff regulations. Furthermore, the Commission
thinks that the highest premium should be given to merit and that balanced representation of all
nationalities of the Union at all levels of the institution(cid:146)s staff hierarchy is essential in order to reflect the
cultural richness and the cohesion of the multinational public service of the Union.

Officials of the Commission are undertaking their professional duties in full respect of staff regulation
which states (cid:145)an official shall carry out his duties and conduct himself solely with the interests of the
Communities in mind; he shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government, authority,
organization or person outside his institution(cid:146).

The Commission would furthermore like to draw the attention of the Honourable Member, to the newly
published (cid:145)Code of good administrative behaviour for staff of the European Commission in their relations
with the public(cid:146) which states that:

Staff shall always act objectively and impartially, in the Community interest and for the public good.
They shall act independently within the framework of the policy fixed by the Commission and their
conduct shall never be guided by personal or national interest or political pressure.

(2001/C 174 E/053)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3423/00

by Ioannis Mar(cid:237)nos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(7 November 2000)

Subject: Fuel tax charges in Greece

In July 2000 the European Union published a very interesting outline of tax charges on various products
in the Member States, entitled (cid:145)Excise Duty Tables(cid:146) (issued by the Taxation and Customs Union Directorate-
General). This document includes a reference to fuel prices in Greece, showing that in the category of (cid:145)gas
oil used for industrial or commercial purposes(cid:146) Greece levies duty of € 252,55/1 000 litres, while the
minimum duty (cid:129) under Council Directive 92/82 (1), adopted on 19 October 1992 (cid:129) is € 18/1 000 litres.
The same applies to the category (cid:145)gas oil used for heating purposes(cid:146), where in Greece it appears that a tax
of € 252,55/1 000 litres is levied. Finally, the situation in the category of (cid:145)liquid petroleum gas and
methane(cid:146) is similar: the directive referred to above suggests no minimum tax, while Greece levies € 13,69/
1 000 kilos.

Could the Commission state whether these data, as presented in the document referred to above, are really
correct, and give its view on the level of fuel taxation in Greece, particularly in view of the fact that the
Greek Government consistently maintains that fuel tax charges in Greece are among the lowest in Europe,
and that there is no way to reduce them? According to Eurostat(cid:146)s data, this statement is not true. Given
that tax on industrial fuel oil
is the fourth highest in the world, the question arises as to how any
improvement in the international competitiveness of Greek industry, which is in any case the worst in the
EU, may be achieved.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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In addition I would like the Commission to give a general assessment of fuel taxation in the European
Union and its effect on the growth rate and international competitiveness of European economies, at a
time when the USA is enjoying a faster growth rate, perhaps partly because taxes on liquid fuel in that
country are clearly lower than in Europe.

(1) OJ L 316, 31.10.1992, p. 19.

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(22 December 2000)

The Commission publishes excise duty tables, in order to provide up-to-date information concerning the
rates applied by the Member States on mineral oils, alcoholic beverages and manufactured tobacco
products.

As is correctly mentioned in this publication, Greece applies the same rate of excise duty on both gas oil
used as a propellant and gas oil used for industrial and commercial uses, mentioned in Article 8(3) of
Council Directive 92/81/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the harmonization of the structures of excise duties
on mineral oils (1), which is of € 252,55/1 000 litres. This rate is in line with Council Directive 92/82/EEC
of 19 October on the approximation of the rates of excise duties on mineral oils (1), which introduced a
harmonised specific excise duty (applied to quantities rather than values) the level of which represents the
minimum rate to be applied by each Member State. Community legislation allows Member States to apply
in practice rates that may either exceed by far these Community minimum rates or be equal or very close
to them, in order to take into account specific national policy considerations.

For gas oil used as motor fuel and gas oil used for heating purposes Greece applies rates of € 252,55 and
€ 18,71 (2) /1 000 litres respectively, which are very close to the respective Community minimum rates of
€ 245 and € 18/1 000 litres. These rates are indeed among the three lowest rates currently applied by the
Member States. However, for liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and methane, used for heating purposes, Greece
applies a rate of € 13,69/1 000 kgs while the Community minimum rate is fixed at € 0/1 000 kgs.

For gas oil used for the industrial and commercial uses mentioned in Article 8 (3) of Council Directive 92/
81/EEC, Greece applies a rate of € 252,55/1 000 litres while the Community minimum rate is € 18/1 000
litres. Greece also applies a rate of € 139,56/1 000 kgs on heavy fuel oil for which a Community minimum
rate of € 113/1 000 kgs is fixed.

Community legislation and in particular Article 8 (3) of Council Directive 92/81/EEC gives the possibility
to each Member State to apply reduced rates of taxation on gas oil, LPG, methane and kerosene, used
under fiscal control for certain industrial and commercial uses, provided that the rate charged is not less
than the minimum rate set in Directive 92/82/EEC. No prior Community authorisation is necessary.

With reference to the impact of mineral oil taxation on the competitiveness of Greek industry, analysis
carried out for the Commission indicates that the implementation of the excise duty changes, included in
the Commission proposal for a Council directive restructuring the taxation of energy products (3), when
combined with recycling of the additional revenues through reductions in social security contributions,
would have small positive impacts on gross domestic product, employment, and the balance of trade.
Moreover, with respect to the potential gap in competitiveness between European economies there is
firstly no evidence that the countries with the highest excise duties on mineral oil are the least competitive
in Europe. In addition, it should be recalled that taking a very selective view by focussing on the level of
mineral oil taxation does not do justice to the complex nature of competitiveness. Indeed the impact on
competitiveness of replacing excise duties by other taxes is in general uncertain and would depend on the
details of any such switch.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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19.6.2001

One should not forget that the current level of Community excise duty rates on mineral oils has remained
unchanged since 1 January 1993. Finally, concerning the request for a general Commission assessment of
the effect
taxation has on the growth rate and the international competitiveness of European
economies as compared to the United States, the Commission notes that the Community is considerably
more efficient in its energy use than the United States, at least in part due to the positive incentives for fuel
saving offered by the higher level of fuel taxation in the Community.

fuel

(1) OJ L 316, 31.10.1992.
(2) This rate is valid for the period from 16.10.2000 to 27.4.2001; outside this period the normal rate of € 252,55/

1 000 litres is applied.

(3) COM(97) 30 final.

(2001/C 174 E/054)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3434/00

by Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) and Mario Mauro (PPE-DE) to the Council

(8 November 2000)

Subject: Protection of Italian journalists in the Middle East (cid:129) freedom of the press

Following the interview given by the Italian Prime Minister, Massimo D(cid:146)Alema, in which he criticised the
Jewish community in Israel, further statements by the RAI correspondent in Jerusalem against the activities
of the free press in the Middle East are a source of deep concern. The letter sent by the RAI journalist,
Riccardo Cristiano, to the Palestinian authorities(cid:146) semi-official daily Al-Hayat al-Jadida, reporting that the
pictures of the lynching of the two Israeli soldiers were not shown by Italian State television represents a
serious attack on the freedom of those sections of the press which are not anti-Israeli.

The statements by a leader of Italy(cid:146)s main governing party and the attitude shown by the Italian State
television correspondent simply contribute to fuelling anti-Semitic feeling in the European Union.

What action does the Council intend to take to help guarantee journalists(cid:146) freedom of activity, to protect
their independence from political parties and to prevent the rise of hatred against Jews living in Europe?

Reply

(26 February 2001)

The Council would draw the Honourable Members(cid:146) attention to the reply given to Written Question

1.
E-3089/00 concerning an attack on a Jewish teacher by a group of neo-Nazi skinheads.

2.
As regards equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin, on 29 June 2000
the Council adopted a Directive implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespec-
tive of racial or ethnic origin (1).

A proposal for a Directive establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and
occupation and a proposal for a Decision establishing a Community action programme to combat
discrimination (2001-2006) are being examined by the Council and will shortly be adopted.

(1) OJ L 180, 19.7.2000, p. 22.