WRITTEN QUESTION E-0494/03 by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission. Support for solar power.
Date: 2003-02-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Member State, EU aid, State aid, energy demand, energy policy, energy research, solar architecture, solar collector, solar energy

7.11.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 268 E/107

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(24 March 2003)

Article 36 of the Commission’s proposal establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the
common agricultural policy (CAP) (1) grants any farmer access to the Single Payment Scheme, who has an
entitlement based on a direct payment received in the reference period 2000-2002.

As stated in Article 40 of the same proposed Regulation, the reference amount shall be the three years
average of the total amount which a farmer was granted. This amount is based on the number of hectares
and the number of animals under the relevant support schemes, for each calendar year of the reference
period.

Subsequently, Article 47 of the proposal lays down that any entitlement granted to a farmer at the time of
the setting up of the Single Payment, which is accompanied by an ‘eligible hectare’, shall give right to the
payment of the amount fixed by the entitlement in the future. ‘Eligible hectare’ shall mean any agricultural
area of the holding taken up by arable land and permanent pasture except areas under permanent crops,
forests or used for non agricultural activities on 31 December 2002.

Within this scheme, as a general principle, it is therefore the farmer, who holds entitlements derived from
his direct payments during the reference period and who can accompany his future claim for the Single
Payment with an equivalent number of eligible hectares, who will receive the payment.

However, without prejudice to this general principle, in order to allow flexibility to respond to specific
situations, Member States have the option to define a certain balance between individual payment
entitlements and regional or national averages by applying the single payment scheme at a regional level.
In this case, a farmer whose holding is located in the region concerned shall receive an entitlement per
hectare which is calculated by dividing that part of the national ceiling corresponding to the region by the
number of reference hectares established at regional level.

(1) COM(2003) 23 final.

(2003/C 268 E/108)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0494/03

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(21 February 2003)

Subject: Support for solar power

What is the Commission’s latest estimate of the contribution of solar power to meeting energy needs in
each EU Member State?

The German Government has recently announced that state funding for solar heat collectors will be
increased to EUR 125 per square metre in order to increase the area of solar heat collectors to 10 million
square metres by 2006.

What state subsidies and what targets for increasing the use of solar heating have been set by each
Member State?

What financial support is available from the Commission towards the promotion of solar heating, and
what targets have been set for the EU as a whole?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(27 March 2003)

The Commission puts the solar heating potential at between 75 and 100 million square metres by 2010.
This wide range is due to the fact that trends vary greatly from one country to another. Although in 2000
there were 9,5 million square metres installed in Europe and around 20 million are forecast by the end of

C 268 E/108

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

7.11.2003

2003, the breakdown between the various Member States is far from uniform, as 79 % of installations are
located in only four countries and 67 % in three. Contrary to what might be expected, the countries with
the best performance are not, with the exception of Greece, those with the greatest potential, but rather
those where proactive measures have been taken.

As regards the targets of the Member States, Community acts refer only to the commitment of the Member
States as regards,
target of a 12 % share for renewable energies in total energy
consumption by 2010 and, second, national targets regarding electricity production from renewable
energy sources under Directive 2001/77/EC (1). Only a minority of Member States have specific
programmes or targets concerning the development of solar heating.

the overall

first,

At Community level, legislative instruments do not contain any specific targets for thermal solar energy or
heating/refrigeration. Nevertheless, the Member States have committed themselves under Directive 2002/
91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 December 2002 on the energy performance of
buildings (2) to reduce demand in this sector by introducing measures concerning energy efficiency and the
use of renewable energy sources. Some cities have already adopted municipal regulations to promote the
use of solar heating in buildings.

The Commission supports initiatives aimed at promoting thermal solar energy under Community
programmes, including its use in buildings and heating/refrigeration. As regards innovation under the 6th
Framework Programme for research and technological development, one objective is Community support
for the development of more efficient solar collectors and the use of plastic and composite materials
(for example Flexcol and Compact projects). A second objective concerns the development of more
efficient solar power stations for the large scale production of energy using solar concentration
technologies (for example, Eurotrough, Solair and PS10 projects). As regards promotion, the Altener
programme encourages the production of solar energy in sectors such as tourism (hotels, etc.) and sport
(sports facilities). Certain regions of the Member States have turned to the European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF) for financial assistance for solar energy programmes (for example, Crete and Andalusia).

The Commission considers that the targets set (cid:1) between 75 and 100 million square metres (cid:1) should be
maintained and that efforts should be made in regions with the greatest potential, particularly through the
rapid application of the abovementioned Directive on the energy performance of buildings.

(1) Directive 2001/77/EEC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 September 2001 on the promotion of
electricity produced from renewable energy sources in the internal electricity market, OJ L 283, 27.10.2001.

(2) OJ L 1, 4.1.2003.

(2003/C 268 E/109)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0540/03

by Samuli Pohjamo (ELDR) to the Commission

(19 February 2003)

Subject: Definition of waste in the preparation of the Mining Waste Directive

Promising ore deposits have been discovered in Northern Scandinavia. The exploitation of these deposits
would be very important not only for these areas but for the EU as a whole. Their importance is all the
greater in view of the level of development of the region in other respects, a region where it is difficult to
develop new economic activities and improve employment because of the low population density, the cold
climate and the long distances.

The recent interpretation of mining waste by the Court of Justice of the European Community, however,
jeopardises the economic operating conditions of the prospective new mines. The core of the problem is
that waste is not classified according to the danger it represents to the environment. For example,
mechanically and chemically untreated surface materials and leftover stone are not in any way dangerous
substances, and they should emphatically not be classified as waste when they are moved to a temporary
storage place for the duration of the mining operations.