WRITTEN QUESTION P-1960/01 by Renato Brunetta (PPE-DE) to the Commission. State aids to Electricité de France (EDF).
Date: 2001-07-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: France, State aid, control of State aid, electrical energy

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).