WRITTEN QUESTION E-2156/01 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Redirection of European oil subsidies towards sustainable energy sources.
Date: 2001-07-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community budget, EU aid, electrical energy, energy policy, energy saving, energy technology, environmental protection, oil industry, renewable energy

6.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 134 E/15

The evaluation and selection procedure is itself in stages and they cannot be easily condensed as they cover
the physical processing of the applications received (encoding, acknowledgement of receipt, etc.); the
evaluation of
the applications by the various Commission departments and where appropriate, by
independent external experts; interdepartmental consultation within the Commission; the consultation of a
committee that might need to be convened for legal reasons; allowing, where necessary, for the period
within which the Parliament can exercise its right of inspection; formal adoption of the list of projects
selected by the Commission. Only at this stage can the Commission inform the applicants whether their
applications have been approved.

These stages are far from being simple bureaucratic hurdles since they guarantee that the fundamental
principles of the grant award procedure are observed " transparency, equal treatment of applicants and
sound financial management.

The Commission is nevertheless seeking to shorten the time required for processing applications. To this
end, the Commission wishes to keep to an absolute minimum the number of directorates-general to be
consulted on the projects for selection.

The last stage in the procedure, which is the formal adoption of the list of projects selected by the
Commission, has in the past most often resulted in the College adopting a decision by written procedure
or empowering a Commissioner to adopt the decision. A change to the Commission’s rules of procedure
has produced a new decision-making procedure for the Commission whereby the power to adopt a
decision is delegated to the Directors-General. Work is under way to ensure that decisions relating to
financing the field of education and culture can be taken in this way. This change will help to reduce the
period needed for processing applications from the time they are submitted to the time when the
Commission can notify applicants of the results.

(2002/C 134 E/016)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2156/01

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(18 July 2001)

Subject: Redirection of European oil subsidies towards sustainable energy sources

In its answer to question H-0527/01 (1) the Commission confines itself to summarising the existing
programmes for renewable energy sources. For example, between 1994 and 1999, 10 % of the total energy
budget " amounting to EUR 300 million " was spent on energy from renewable sources. Between 1998
and 2002 the Commission wishes to allocate some EUR 477 million through the Fifth Action Programme
and Altener to alternative sources of energy.

The Commission does not give any definitive answer on the redirection of oil subsidies. Between 1975 and
1998 the Commission granted no less than EUR 747,72 million in subsidies to European oil, gas and coal
producers. This special treatment for petroleum contrasts sharply with the ambitious Kyoto objectives on
CO2 emissions. A great effort therefore needs to be made to redress the balance in favour of alternative
energy sources.

Accordingly I should like a clear reply from the Commission to the following questions:

" Will the Commission be redirecting its support for the petroleum industry to the development and

promotion of alternative energy sources?

" If not, why is the Commission refusing to redirect its support for the petroleum industry towards the
in the light of the ambitious Kyoto

development and promotion of alternative energy sources,
objectives and the many years of preferential treatment given to the petroleum industry?

(1) Written answer of 3 July 2001.

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(9 November 2001)

Within the Fifth Research and Technological Development
in the
distribution of funds for the promotion of new energy technology, priority has been given to renewable

(RTD) Framework Programme,

C 134 E/16

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2002

energy sources and energy efficiency. Funds allocated to renewable energy sources and energy efficiency
measures will account for approximately 80 % of the total budget. However, the Commission promotes a
balanced approach to the promotion of innovative energy technology and therefore the remaining 20 % of
support could be allocated to conventional energy sources, such as oil, gas and coal.

It should be noted, that in the selection of proposals elegible for Community support, one of the key
criteria was the environmental benefit associated with the projects. Therefore, in the selection of proposals,
priority was given to projects that reduce the environmental impact related to oil and gas exploitation.

In relation to the consistency of the support to oil and gas technology and the Kyoto target, it should be
remembered that the increased utilisation of natural gas in substitution of more carbon-intensive fuels is
one of the key elements for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In that respect, support to
innovative gas technology can contribute to the achievement of the Kyoto target.

It should be added that, in addition to financial support for renewable energy sources, the Commission
promotes an increased penetration of renewable energy sources through a series of other policy measures,
such as the recently adopted Directive on the promotion of electricity produced from renewable energy
sources in the internal electricity market (1). The strategic objective of
the Directive is to create a
framework for the medium-term significant increase of electricity from renewable energy sources. The
Directive abstains from proposing a harmonised Community-wide support scheme for electricity from
renewable energy sources. This is to allow Member States to gain further experience with the application
of their national support schemes. The Commission will follow the developments in Member States closely
to gain further insight into the practical merits of each national support scheme. In Article 4, the Directive
obliges the Commission to issue a report assessing the different national support schemes no later than
four years after its entry into force. The report should give a clear picture of the effectiveness, including
if
cost-effectiveness, of each national support scheme. Under the terms of Article 4, this report shall,
necessary, be accompanied by a proposal
for a harmonised Community-wide support scheme for
electricity from renewable energy sources. Such a proposal could be necessary inter " alia to establish a
real level playing field with electricity produced from conventional energy sources.

The Commission’s Green Paper on the security of energy supply has launched a debate on the future of
European energy policy including the issue of support to different energy sources. In this context, the
Commission has raised the question whether sectors which have received public support in the past, such
as oil, should not contribute financially to the development of renewable energy sources. More generally,
in its proposal for a European sustainable development strategy (2), the Commission has proposed to phase
out subsidies to fossil fuel production and consumption by 2010.

(1) COM(2001) 445 final.
(2) COM(2001) 264.

(2002/C 134 E/017)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2165/01

by Elisabeth Schroedter (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(19 July 2001)

Subject: Planning conflicts between support for border regions and European nature protection in the

Hohenwutzen-Süd " Güstebieser Loose area (Brandenburg)

The study area for the construction of the new German-Polish road border Hohenwutzen-Süd contains
conservation sites covered by the Fauna/Flora/Habitat Directive (92/43/EEC) (1) and the Birds Directive
(79/409/EEC) (2). The areas concerned are the flora/fauna/habitat
‘Sonnenburger Wald und
Ahrenskehle’ (No 392) and ‘Oderwiesen Neurüdnitz’ (No 387), which were notified by Germany and
fixed by the Land of Brandenburg, and the special protection area ‘Odervorland Gieshof’ (No 111).

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