European Parliament resolution on the Communication from the Commission on the European Union's oil supply (COM(2000) 631 - C5-0739/2000 - 2000/2335(COS))
Date: 2001-06-14
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: energy policy, energy supply, petroleum product, price of energy, security of supply

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Thursday 14 June 2001

40.
Visibility: notes that a number of delegations have taken the initiative to publish their activities on
their own websites; encourages the Commission at headquarters to facilitate this activity for those del-
egations that do not have sufficient resources;

Believes that bottlenecks in filling vacancies should not be tackled by closing or down-grading
41.
delegations as this only creates further problems;
instead, there should be greater restructuring than
planned, with the employment of more temporary, B and C-grade staff and, particularly in the ACP coun-
tries, local staff;

42. Welcomes the Commission proposal to deploy more local and ALAT staff but believes that the EU
delegations in developing countries should make a particular effort to increase the number of potential
candidates by offering special training courses in order to increase the chances for skilled and university-
trained local staff to be employed;

43.
Believes that the Commission(cid:146)s approach should take account of the Council(cid:146)s call for greater
involvement of governmental and non-governmental organisations from the Member States; believes that
particular account must be taken of the increased opportunities afforded in the 2001 budget for NGOs to
apply for funds for projects from, for example, the regional budget lines for Asia, Latin America and South
Africa, something which will result in additional demands being made on the expertise of the delegations;

Believes that better coordination between the delegations and the Member States is required in
44.
order to give substance to the desired complementarity between the development policy of the EU and
that of the Member States; points out that such coordination is of particular importance during the pro-
gramming phase of the various Community initiatives in developing countries;

45.
Believes that regional cooperation, which is an important goal of development cooperation, should
be given greater material and staff back-up; notes that the present approach of regional offices, which is
based primarily on considerations of staff savings rather than substantive concepts, does not appear to
guarantee this; considers, in particular, that a permanent presence is essential in individual ACP partner
countries because of communications and transport problems; points out that the regional offices therefore
require an approach that is tailored to development policy requirements;

Urges the Commission to present the multiannual programme for delegations, which should figure

46.
more prominently in the deconcentration programme, and to link it to development objectives;

*

*

*

47.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council.

15. European Union(cid:146)s oil supply

A5-0163/2001

European Parliament resolution on the Communication from the Commission on the European
Union(cid:146)s oil supply (COM(2000) 631 (cid:129) C5-0739/2000 (cid:129) 2000/2335(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to the Commission communication (COM(2000) 631 (cid:129) C5-0739/2000),

(cid:129) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

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(cid:129) having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy and
the opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence
Policy, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, the Committee on the Environment, Public
Health and Consumer Policy and the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism
(A5-0163/2001),

A. whereas it is estimated that on present trends, by 2020, world oil consumption will stand at some
115 million barrels per day, as compared with some 77 million barrels in 2000, if no steps are taken,

B. whereas the high level of European dependency on oil imports will increase still more steeply, from

some 75 % at present to over 85 % in 2020,

C. whereas, on current forecasts, 71 % of end-user demand for oil in 2020 will be accounted for by the

transport sector, 7 % by industry, 8 % by the service sector and 14 % by private households,

D. whereas high oil prices and price fluctuations affect the poorer sectors of the population dispropor-

tionately,

E. whereas it is impossible to make predictions about the price of oil and whereas further price instabil-
ity must be expected: between late summer and December 2000 alone, the price ranged between
USD 37 and USD 24 per barrel of crude oil,

F. whereas it is possible to save large quantities of oil using existing technology: for example, simply by
installing better windows it would be possible each year (cid:129) projecting the figures to cover the whole of
Europe (cid:129) to save some 65 million tonnes of oil, currently worth around € 25 million, in other words
20 % of total oil production in Europe,

1.
Calls on the Commission and Council to establish effective dialogues with the major oil producing
groupings, in particular OPEC, the Russian Federation and Caspian Sea States; considers that such dia-
logues should be ongoing, whether the market is favourable to buyer or seller and framed within the
broader political and economic issues of mutual concern;

2.
Urges the EU institutions and Member States to coordinate as much as possible their political, econ-
omic and energy supply strategies vis-(cid:224)-vis the major oil producers and thereby speak with one really
effective voice;

3.

Calls for this dialogue to take the interests of developing countries into consideration;

Calls on the EU, in dialogue with the OPEC and non-OPEC countries, to prepare the way for pay-

4.
ment for oil in euros;

5.
Calls, in the light of Europe(cid:146)s strategic interest in a stable energy supply, for the development of long-
term strategies for the regions of the Persian Gulf, Caspian Sea, Caucasus and West Africa seeking to
guarantee the diversification of EU energy imports, and to contribute to the stabilisation and development
of these regions;

6.
In this connection, and in view of the close links with the Mediterranean and the Middle East, wel-
comes the Commission(cid:146)s energy initiatives relating to Euro-Mediterranean cooperation and calls for an
intensification of the dialogue between the Union and the non-European members of the Barcelona Process
which was initiated by means of the Euro-Mediterranean Energy Forums;

7.

Calls for the EU to make greater efforts to replace oil as far as possible with other sources of energy;

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Considers that nuclear energy, given the current safety conditions in modern power stations, may

8.
help to provide a substitute for a portion of oil consumption, if the problem of waste is resolved;

Thursday 14 June 2001

Regards renewable energy sources and biofuels as an alternative to oil and its derivatives, and takes
9.
the view that investment in technological research into energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and
biofuels will have a positive impact in the medium and long term;

Calls on the Commission to present a proposal to encourage increased use and production of

10.
biofuels taking into account the potential of the candidate countries;

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to remove distortion of competition on the energy
11.
market, in particular through internalising external costs and through fair transit tariffs for electricity from
renewables to enable the latter to develop, as Parliament also called for in its opinion of 16 November
2000 on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council directive on the production of electricity
from renewable energy sources in the internal electricity market (COM(2000) 279 (cid:129) C5-0281/2000 (cid:129)
2000/0116(COD)) (1);

12.
Points out that taxation of energy in the EU is 2,1 % of GDP compared with 0,9 % in Japan and
0,5 % in the USA and urges the Commission to strive for a more even sharing of the burden towards
achieving the Kyoto emissions targets;

Suggests that, due to the lack of progress in the Council on the directive on taxation of energy
13.
products, the levels of energy taxes in EU Member States should be left to tax competition in a truly open
and fair single market for transport and for motor fuels;

Stresses that the use of fiscal instruments to offset the increase in world oil prices must be con-
14.
sistent with economic policy objectives and commitments on budget consolidation; urges the Council to
take a decision on the proposal for a directive on the taxation of energy products, which has been shelved
since 1997;

Calls on the General Affairs Council, the Ecofin Council and the Council of Transport Ministers, to
in cooperation with the Commission, a coordination mechanism making it

15.
develop and put in place,
possible in future to respond, in a coordinated way, to a short-term increase in the price of oil;

Calls on the Commission to monitor closely and speed up the liberalisation of the gas and elec-

16.
tricity markets, so as to give a greater boost to competition;

In the context of liberalisation of gas markets, asks the Commission to study the necessity for the

17.
continued close coupling of oil and gas prices in the EU and to make recommendations;

18.
Stresses that, even though in the long term natural gas will be unable to meet the rising demand for
energy, it will help to provide a substitute for a portion of oil consumption and diversify energy sources
and their origin;

19.
Suggests that the feasibility of constructing oil and gas pipelines from the Middle East and West
Africa to Europe should be investigated with an eye to potential strategic supply benefits in the longer
term;

20. Welcomes the Commission(cid:146)s intention to reduce energy consumption in the transport sector and
recommends that research in this area should be given priority under the Sixth Framework Programme;

(1)

(cid:145)Texts Adopted(cid:146), Item 4.

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Calls on the Commission to take measures, together with industry, to improve the energy efficiency

21.
of buildings;

Supports the Commission(cid:146)s proposal to submit to the G(cid:246)teborg European Council a plan for energy
22.
savings and diversification of energy sources which will aim both at more efficient use of energy (cid:129)
particularly in buildings (cid:129) and at promoting the development of a new generation of vehicles;

Calls on the Commission to work out new energy-saving programmes for the rational use of energy

23.
and to retain the existing SAVE II and Altener II programmes;

24.
Calls on the Commission to intensify its efforts to improve the terms of competition in the oil
sector and to ensure compliance with existing competition rules; considers that particular emphasis should
be placed on investigating and combating oligopolies and cartels in refining and distribution to points of
consumption.

Urges the Commission to enhance the level of oil production, especially from indigenous EU oil-

25.
fields, by promoting research and investment in improved oil recovery techniques;

Notes that oil is a costly, non-renewable resource required for important areas of life such as the

26.
manufacture of medicines;

Calls on the Member States in future to plan housing developments with a view to high energy

27.
efficiency and, in particular, to adapt them to transport structures with low oil dependence;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission and the govern-

28.
ments of the Member States.

16. Biological and toxin weapons convention

B5-0434, 0436, 0446, 0454 and 0462/2001

European Parliament resolution on the Compliance Protocol for the Biological and Toxin Weapons
Convention (BTWC)

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to its previous resolutions on arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament,

A.

concerned by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction technology, the threat posed by the
misuse of biotechnology for hostile purposes, and the relative ease with which biological and toxin
weapons could be made,

B.

regretting that currently no mechanism exists to verify compliance with the BTWC,

C.

convinced that a Compliance Protocol would greatly increase confidence in the international prohibi-
tion of the development, production and stockpiling of biological weapons,

D. noting the EU common position of 17 May 1999 relating to progress towards a legally binding Proto-

col to strengthen compliance with the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) (1),

E. welcoming the possibility of a Compliance Protocol to be agreed before the Fifth Review Conference

of the BTWC in November 2001,

(1) OJ L 133, 28.5.1999, p. 3.