WRITTEN QUESTION E-2008/01 by Renato Brunetta (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Modus operandi as regards the supply of natural gas to the European internal market.
Date: 2001-07-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: energy supply, natural gas, security of supply, self-sufficiency in energy, trading operation

14.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 40 E/161

increase in Luxembourg(cid:146)s GDP), whilst others oppose this type of breakdown. It should also be
pointed out in this context that Luxembourg has, for some time now, published two versions of its
national accounts: a national version which takes FISIM into account and a Community version which
showed GDP to be around 10-15 % lower, depending on the data, than in the national version.

(cid:129) To return to the use of GDP as an indicator for international comparisons, if the concept of national
income (which is closer to the actual notion of income) were used in its place, there would be no
fundamental change in the situation for Luxembourg, as its national income would only be slightly
lower than its GDP.

(cid:129) The Commission is, however, attentive to the question asked by the Honourable Member, which raises
a fundamental problem relating to statistics: these are based on standards and conventions which
apply internationally to all countries and thus they cannot give total coverage to all aspects of
economic and social life.

(2002/C 40 E/173)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2008/01

by Renato Brunetta (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(6 July 2001)

Subject: Modus operandi as regards the supply of natural gas to the European internal market

According to the figures in the European Investment Bank study entitled (cid:145)The Western European gas
market, 1996(cid:146), the European market(cid:146)s dependence on sources outside the Community will increase from
31 % in 1995 to 45 % in 2010.

If such quantities are to be supplied, a variety of long-term supply contracts will need to be administered,
and pipelines built and managed as efficiently as possible to enable the gas supplied to be conveyed to the
consumer markets. When devising solutions of this kind, the operation of the gas transmission networks
has to be treated as a priority strategic issue.

In the light of the foregoing: What steps has the Commission taken or will it take to make the supply of
natural gas from sources outside Union territory (which will become the main sources) as reliable and
dependable as possible? In particular, what forms of organisation should suppliers and distributors in
general adopt to enable them, at the operational level, to reduce the consequences that might ensue if
serious incidents were to occur (cid:129) as they could (cid:129) at natural gas transmission facilities or producer
countries were to cut off the supply?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(6 September 2001)

Community natural gas demand is expected to increase over the coming decades while domestic
Community gas production in the medium to longer term is expected to decline. The Community(cid:146)s
dependence on non-European sources of gas is therefore expected to increase over the next 20-30 years.

The increasing demand for imported gas confirms the need for strong political and physical links with
external suppliers and a diversified supply portfolio. Key strategic issues related to the security of the
Community(cid:146)s energy supply were identified in the Commission(cid:146)s Green Paper (cid:145)Towards a European strategy
for the security of energy supply (1)(cid:146) including possible geopolitical implications of the expected increase in
import dependency from external gas suppliers such as Algeria and Russia.

While it should be noted, that the continuity of supplies from the former Soviet Union, and then Russia,
being the main external gas supplier to the Community has been exemplary over the last 25 years,
strengthened co-operation both technically and politically with external suppliers is in the mutual long-
term strategic interest.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.2.2002

The best recipe to reduce or manage geopolitical risks and to ensure security of supply for Europe is
clearly one based on free trade; integration of open markets and closer co-operation with external suppliers
and transit countries. A reciprocal integration and opening of upstream and downstream markets will also
attract capital to undertake necessary investments in production and transportation infrastructure.

On the occasion of the Union-Russian Summit of 30 October 2000 in Paris, it was agreed to institute an
energy dialogue on a regular basis between the Community and Russia to enable progress to be made in
the definition and arrangements for a Union-Russian Energy Partnership. Its overall objective is to improve
energy relations, while ensuring that the policies of opening and integrating energy markets are pursued.

With a view to enhancing the reliability of energy supply between Russia and the Community, the Joint
Statement from the Russia-Union Summit held in Moscow on 17 May 2001 identified an assessment of
the reliability of the existing energy transport infrastructure as a priority.

Community gas suppliers have a range of instruments available to ensure security of supply in case of
disruption of supplies, including underground gas storage. The Community(cid:146)s storage capacity has increased
significantly these last years. Continued diversification of supply including from liquified natural gas is also
a key objective. Being surrounded by around 80 % of the world(cid:146)s total proven gas reserves within an
economic distance, the Community is in a relatively comfortable gas supply situation and world gas
reserves are considered to be abundant.

The potential of domestic Community gas production should, however, not be underestimated either. The
Commission is currently examining, in close liaison with gas producers, both internal and external gas
supply prospects with a view to ensuring continued security of supply of gas to Europe and an appropriate
and stable framework conducive to investments in the gas sector.

In recognition of the strategic importance of security of supply, the Commission is recommending in its
proposal for amending the existing internal market Directive for gas (2) that Member States shall designate
a body to monitor security of supply issues, and in particular the supply/demand balance in its national
market and the level of expected future demand and available supplies.

(1) COM(2000) 769 final.
(2) COM(2001) 125 final.

(2002/C 40 E/174)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2013/01

by Joan Colom i Naval (PSE) to the Commission

(3 July 2001)

Subject: Aid for the meat marketing sector in the wake of BSE

The BSE crisis in the cattle sector led the Commission to approve aid to producers hit. However, those
involved in marketing meat products were equally badly hit (cid:129) butchers, offal merchants, meat
transporters, meat suppliers, slaughter house staff, etc. They have all suffered major losses, and many of
their businesses have been virtually ruined. While this is a general problem throughout the EU,
in
Barcelona and the surrounding province, we have the additional specific problem that this sector is mainly
concentrated in municipal markets (cid:129) i.e. we are speaking about (cid:145)specialist tradesmen(cid:146) (cid:129) which are
restricted to the sale of beef and mutton, and cannot diversify in terms of the products they sell (which
would not be the solution either, given the particular idiosyncrasies of the markets in which they work).
This means that their situation is even more worrying than that of their counterparts in the rest of the EU,
since the latter are, in many cases, in a position to diversify the products on sale in their shops and sales
points. Data supplied by the sector in Barcelona shows that sales fell by as much as 70-80 % for butchers