WRITTEN QUESTION P-1961/01 by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission. EC-Macao cooperation officer.
Date: 2001-07-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Union, Macao, appointment of staff, cooperation policy

C 364 E/232

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

(2001/C 364 E/255)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1960/01

by Renato Brunetta (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: State aids to ElectricitØ de France (EDF)

(3 July 2001)

EDF has acquired sizeable stakes in the electricity industry in the United Kingdom (London Electricity),
Germany (ENBW), Italy (Montedison), and Spain (Hydrocant(cid:224)brico), having outdone its rivals by offering
very high prices in the negotiations. The French electricity market has been opened up to the minimum
extent laid down in the (cid:145)electricity(cid:146) Directive, but, at all events, only negligible fractions of demand are
covered by companies other than EDF, which is wholly owned by the French State.

European electricity industry sources believe that EDF is underestimating the costs of decommissioning its
nuclear installations and because of this is able to charge artificially low selling prices. The procedures for
writing off the installations are determined by the French Government, which owns EDF. The accounting
data available for EDF show that the interest which the company is paying on its substantial debt is well
below the market rates.

In the light of the foregoing, does not the Commission, and in particular its President and the Member
responsible for competition, believe that infringement proceedings should be instituted immediately against
France on account of the State aids granted to EDF, which are severely distorting trade between countries?
Does not the Commission believe that, until such time as the investigation into this matter has been
completed, it should exercise the powers accorded to it under Article 3(g) of the EC Treaty to prevent EDF
from buying more shares in companies based in other Member States?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(26 July 2001)

The Commission is currently examining the French regulatory framework in which ElectricitØ de France
(EDF) operates in order to establish whether its provisions contain elements of state aid within the
meaning of Article 87(1) (formerly Article 92(1)) of the EC Treaty.

In connection with the Green Paper on security of energy supply (1), the Commission is already engaged in
preparing a detailed inventory of all forms of financing granted by Member States in respect of various
energy products. Once this preliminary examination has been completed, the Question of any funding for
the nuclear industry and its compatibility with the relevant rules of the Treaties can be analysed, including
the influence of such funding on the operation of the electricity market.

The Commission would point out to the Honourable Member that any specific information he can supply
regarding the facts objected to could speed up matters considerably.

(1) COM(2000) 769 final.

(2001/C 364 E/256)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1961/01

by JosØ Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission

(3 July 2001)

Subject: EC-Macao cooperation officer

In paragraph 18 of the resolution adopted on 15 February 2001 (A5-0017/2001) on the communication
from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament: The European Union and Macau:
beyond 2000 (1), Parliament made a recommendation in which it (cid:145)[asked] the Commission to appoint an
EC-Macau cooperation officer to Macau, as announced in its abovementioned communication,
to
contribute to the coordination of bilateral cooperation,
in order to demonstrate its commitment to
consolidating relations between the two sides(cid:146).

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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This concern was already put forward in Parliament(cid:146)s earlier debates, when it adopted its previous
resolution on Macao on 16 December 1999, at the time when Portuguese administration ended and
Macao acquired the status of a special administrative region within the People(cid:146)s Republic of China. The
above Commission communication to the Council and Parliament, moreover, charted the same goal.

Addressing Parliament in the February debate, the Member of the Commission concerned, Mr Nielson, said
that: (cid:145)With regard to cooperation, the resolution calls upon the Commission to settle quickly the Question
of appointing a technical cooperation officer for Macao. Here I would have liked to be able to report that
the nominated technical cooperation officer had been appointed in November as had been planned.
Unfortunately the selected candidate withdrew at the final stage after a selection procedure that lasted
several months. We continue to consider the appointment of the technical cooperation officer very
important(cid:146).

Parliament, indeed, is most anxious for the EU-Macao cooperation officer to be appointed and start work.

Can the Commission therefore say what progress has been made as regards the appointment of the EC-
Macao cooperation officer and how soon the officer will be able to start work?

(1) COM(1999) 484 (cid:129) C5-0169/2000 (cid:129) 2000/2099(COS).

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(19 July 2001)

The Honourable Member rightly recollects that the selected candidate withdrew from his nomination as
Co-operation Officer for Union-Macao Co-operation last November 2000.

Following this disappointing news, and in view of the reorganisation of the Commission(cid:146)s external co-
operation delivery system at the start of this year, the Commission has been preparing the required multi-
annual, co-operation programming for Macao, including the Co-operation Officer appointment.

In this context, the Commission is pleased to be able to report that this programming is now in its final
stages and the Question of the Co-operation Officer will be resolved shortly.

(2001/C 364 E/257)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1971/01

by Elizabeth Lynne (ELDR) to the Commission

(5 July 2001)

Subject: Liquid Petroleum Gas fuel

What initiatives has the European Union taken with regard to the conversion of motor vehicles to Liquid
Petroleum Gas (LPG) fuel? What is the full cost to the EU of such initiatives?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(10 September 2001)

The European type approval system regulates the placing on the market of new passenger cars. The
regulatory framework comprises all the safety and environmental requirements which such vehicles have
to satisfy before they are allowed to be placed on the market. Until recently, this system was not
completely adapted in order to take into account all the specific characteristics of liquid petroleum gas
(LPG) fuelled vehicles. For this reason, Member States needed to request a derogation for new LPG vehicles
with respect to one or more European type approval directives.