Proposal for a Council Decision on establishing the European Union position within the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community (Skopje, 24 September 2010)
Date: 2010-07-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Moldova, energy policy, energy saving, energy supply, renewable energy, security of supply

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 6.7.2010 
COM(2010)363 final 

2010/0202 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on establishing the European Union position within the Ministerial Council of the 
Energy Community (Skopje, 24 September 2010) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The  Ministerial  Council  of  the  Energy  Community  will  meet  on  24th  September  2010  in 
Skopje  (former  Yugoslav  Republic  of  Macedonia). In order for the European  Union to take 
part in the relevant decisions, it is necessary to establish the position of the European Union 
pursuant Article 218, paragraph 9 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union and 
in accordance with the provisions of Council Decision 2006/500/EC of 29 May 2006 on the 
conclusion by the European Community of the Energy Community Treaty.  

The  proposal  for  a  Council  Decision  covers  all  agenda  items  for  which  a  decision  by  the 
Ministerial  Council  is  expected  as  indicated  hereafter.  The  other  agenda  items  are  also 
mentioned below for information.  

1. 

ELEMENTS FOR DECISION 

The Commission shall  express the  European Union positions as defined in the annex to the 
proposed decision for the following elements for decision. 

1.1. 

Budgetary matters 

The Commission shall approve the financial discharge of the Director for the year 2009 on the 
basis of the Report of Audit of 31st December 2009, the Budget Committee Report on Audit 
2009 and the Director's Report on Execution of the Budget. 

The  Commission  shall  moreover  approve  the  amendment  of  Annex  4  of  the  Energy 
Community Treaty ("Contribution to the Budget"), following the accession of the Republic of 
Moldova to the Energy Community as from 1st May 2010. 

The proposed amendment relates to Moldova's contribution for year 2011, which is fixed in 
0,10%  of  the  total  budget  of  the  Energy  Community  (EUR  3,380,000).  Moldova's 
contribution amounts to EUR 3,380 and is similar to contributions paid by Albania, fYROM, 
Montenegro and UNMIK. 

In  order  to  avoid  a  surplus  in  the  budget,  the  equivalent  0,10%  is  being  deducted  from  the 
contribution of the European Union for year 2011, which is fixed in 98% (instead of 98,10% 
for  year  2010).  Contributions  for  other  contracting  parties  remain  at  the  same  level  as  for 
2010. 

1.2. 

Renewable Energy Sources 

In June 2009, the Ministerial Council established a Task Force with the mission to evaluate 
the  impact  of  Directive  2009/28/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23 
April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and 
subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC ("Directive 2009/28/EC") on 
the  promotion  of  the  use  of  energy  from  renewable  sources  in  the  Contracting  Parties  and 
candidate Contracting Parties of the Energy  Community, and to investigate and propose the 
modalities for a possible further adoption by the Energy Community.  

The  Secretariat  commissioned  in  2009  a  Study  on  the  Implementation  of  the  New  EU 
Renewables  Directive  in  the  Energy  Community  with  a  view  to  calculating  a  mandatory 

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renewable energy target for each country based on the methodology within the EU Directive, 
among other tasks. The methodology used to calculate the 2020 RES targets has been based 
on  the  principle  of  equivalent ambition  of  the  Contracting  Parties  as  of  EU-Member  States, 
i.e. a flat rate increase of 5.5% plus a variable share based on the GDP per capita. 

In  the  course  of  its  work,  the  RES  Task  Force  noted  that  the  data  on  the  consumption  and 
availability of biomass was one of the greater uncertainties of the study, which had an impact 
not only on the calculation of the RES share in the base year 2005 but also in the available 
potential to meet the 2020 targets. 

The  Secretariat  of  the  Energy  Community  has  therefore  undertaken  to  commission  an 
additional  study  that  will  review  the  data  on  biomass  for  all  Contracting  Parties  (including 
Moldova). 

Until the conditions are given to further explore the prospective implementation of Directive 
2009/28,  it  is  considered  as  appropriate  to  address  a  recommendation  to  the  Contracting 
Parties, inviting them to intensify their efforts towards promotion of the renewable sources of 
energy,  in  the  light  of  those  provisions  of  the  Directive  that  are  not  directly  linked  to  the 
establishment of national binding targets. 

The  Commission  shall  approve  the  adoption  of  the  text  of  the  Ministerial  Council 
Recommendation on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, as endorsed 
at the meeting of the Permanent High Level Group on 29th June 2010. 

The  Commission  shall  approve  the  extension  of  the  mandate  of  the  Task  Force  for  one 
additional year. 

1.3. 

Internal market for electricity and gas – "Third Package" 

The Energy Community Treaty identifies the "acquis communautaire on energy" as being: (i) 
Directive  2003/54/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  26  June  2003 
concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity, (ii) Directive 2003/55/EC of 
the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2003 concerning common rules for the 
internal market in natural gas, and (iii) Regulation 1228/2003/EC of the European Parliament 
and of the Council of 26 June 2003 on conditions for access to the network for cross-border 
exchanges in electricity. By Decision Nº 2007/06/MC-EnC of 18 December 2007, this acquis 
was supplemented with Regulation (EC) Nº 1775/2005 on conditions of access to the natural 
gas network. 

The above mentioned pieces of European Union Law have been amended and recast and will 
therefore  be  repealed  and  replaced,  as  from  3rd  of  March  2011  by  the  following  acts: 
Directive  2009/72/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  13  July  2009, 
concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity; Directive 2009/73/EC of the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  13  July  2009  concerning  common  rules  for  the 
internal market in natural gas; Regulation (EC) No 714/2009 of the European Parliament and 
of  the  Council  of  13  July  2009  on  conditions  for  access  to  the  network  for  cross-border 
exchanges in electricity, and Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council of 13 July 2009 on conditions for access to the gas natural transmission networks. 

This so-called "Third Package" builds on EU Member States implementation experience and 
represents an upgrade of the recast rules. 

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The  Commission  has  started  to  proactively  work  towards  a  timely  implementation  of  these 
Directives  and  Regulations  in  the  Member  States,  which  represent  already  the  point  of 
reference for the internal market on electricity and gas at European level. 

It is therefore advisable that the Energy Community starts implementing its "energy acquis" in 
a  way  that  reflects  the  recent  evolution  of  the  European  Union  Law;  following  a  formal 
Recommendation issued by the Ministerial Council. 

A  future  decision  on  the  implementation  of  the  Third  Package  shall  contain  the  necessary 
adaptations to the Energy Community's own institutional framework and the specific situation 
of each of its Contracting Parties, as foreseen in Article 24 of the Energy Community Treaty. 
The Commission shall approve the adoption of a Ministerial Council Recommendation on the 
implementation of amendments to the "acquis communautaire on energy", as endorsed at the 
meeting of the Permanent High Level Group on 29th June 2010. 

2. 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

2.1. 

Points without debate 

The  Commission  shall  approve  the  conclusions  of  the  preceding  two  meetings  of  the 
Permanent High level Group and shall take note of the following reports: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Report on the implementation of the Work Programme of the Energy Community; 

Report of audit as of 31 December 2009; 

Budget Committee Report on Audit 2009; 

Director's report on the execution of the Budget; 

Report on Pending Dispute Settlement Cases; 

Preliminary report on the implementation of the budget for 2009; 

2.2. 

Implementation of the Treaty 

The Commission shall take note of the report prepared by the Secretariat. 

The Commission shall take note of the little progress made on implementation since the latest 
report,  and 
the  existing  gap  between  political  statements  and  daily 
implementation, which represents a serious obstacle to investments. 

in  particular 

It shall encourage the Secretariat, in line with the Conclusions of the latest Ministerial Council 
meeting  held  in  Zagreb  on  18th  December  2009,  to  actively  pursue  all  cases  of  non-
compliance, and in particular to address such cases in the framework of procedures initiated at 
its  own  initiative.  Equal  treatment  should  be  guaranteed  e.g.  by  addressing  simultaneously 
similar breaches by different Contracting Parties. 

The  Commission  shall  further  support  the  Secretariat's  efforts  in  view  of  finding  negotiated 
solutions. 

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2.3. 

Security of supply 

The Commission shall take note of the state of play on the implementation of the Treaty as 
regards  security  of  supply  and  report  on  the  ongoing  discussions  on  its  Proposal  for  a 
Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning measures to safeguard 
security of gas supply and repealing Directive 2004/67/EC. 

2.4. 

Oil dimension 

The Commission shall welcome the contracting of a Study  on  Emergency Oil  Stocks in the 
Energy  Community,  to  be  finalised  by  March  2011.  This  report  will  assess  the  present 
situation and needs at the Contracting Parties and observers and will prepare a road map that 
for the Energy Community that would include, in particular, a coordinated time schedule for 
implementation of Directive 2009/119/EC of 14 September 2009 imposing an obligation on 
Member States to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products for each 
of them.  

2.5. 

Infrastructure Investments 

The  Commission  shall  take  note  of  the  steps  undertaken  towards  promoting  those 
infrastructure  projects  considered  as  a  priority  for  the  region,  as  short-listed  and  further 
developed  by  the  Secretariat,  and  as  endorsed  by  the  Permanent  High  Level  Group  at  its 
meetings on 17th March and 29th June 2010. 

It shall further take note of the Report adopted by the Energy Community Regulatory Board at 
its meeting on 10th March 2010 on Cooperation of Regulators with Regard to Cross Border 
Investment  Projects,  and  covering  Regulatory  Instruments  for  Promoting  New  Investments, 
the Assessment of Existing Mechanisms and Recommendations. 

2.6.  Memorandum of Understanding on Social Issues  

The  Commission  will  take  note  of  the  progress made  in  implementing  the  Memorandum  of 
Understanding on Social Issues and in particular the conclusions of the 3rd Social Forum held 
on 10 - 11 June in Skopje. 

The  Ministerial  Council  of  the  Energy  Community  will  meet  on  24th  September  2010  in 
Skopje  (former  Yugoslav  Republic  of  Macedonia). In order for the European  Union to take 
part in the relevant decisions, it is necessary to establish the position of the European Union 
pursuant Article 218 of the Treaty and in accordance with the provisions of Council Decision 
2006/500/EC of 29 May 2006 on the conclusion by the European Community of the Energy 
Community Treaty.  

The  proposal  for  a  Council  Decision  covers  all  agenda  items  for  which  a  decision  by  the 
Ministerial  Council  is  expected  as  indicated  hereafter.  The  other  agenda  items  are  also 
mentioned below for information. 

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2010/0202 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on establishing the European Union position within the Ministerial Council of the 
Energy Community (Skopje, 24 September 2010) 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 218, paragraph 9, 

Having  regard  to  Council  Decision  2006/500/EC  of  29  May  2006  on  the  conclusion  by  the 
European  Community  of  the  Energy  Community  Treaty,1  and  in  particular  Articles  4  and  5 
thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Sole Article 

In view of the meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community to take place in 
Skopje on 24 September 2010, the position of the European Union regarding the issues falling 
under the scope of Article 218, paragraph 9, of the Treaty is set out in Annex to this decision. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

1 

OJ L 198, p. 15. 

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ANNEX 
European Union position 

•  The  European  Union  approves  the  financial  discharge  of  the  Director  of  the  Energy 

Community Secretariat for year 2009. 

•  The European Union approves the Ministerial Council Decision amending Annex 4 to the 
Energy Community Treaty ("Contribution to the  Budget"), to reflect the accession of the 
Republic of Moldova. 

•  The  European  Union  approves  the  extension  of  the  mandate  of  the  Task  Force  on 

Renewable Energy Sources for one additional year. 

•  The European Union approves the Ministerial Council Recommendation on the promotion 

of the use of energy from renewable sources. 

•  The  European  Union  approves  the  Ministerial  Council  Recommendation  on  the 

implementation of amendments to the "acquis communautaire on energy". 

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