CELEX: 51983PC0376
Language: en
Date: 1983-06-14
Title: AMENDED PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) ON THE PAYMENT OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVES IN SUPPORT OF CATEGORIES OF INVESTMENT IN THE RATIONAL USE OF ENERGY

N o C 188/10                         Official Journal of the European Communities                              14.7.83
                                                            II
                                                    (Preparatory Acts)
                                             COMMISSION
              Amendment to the proposal for a Council Regulation on the payment of financial
                   incentives in support of categories of investment in the rational use of energy (')
              (Submitted by the Commission to the Council pursuant to Article 149 (2) of the EEC Treaty
                                                    on 22 June 1983)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN                                     Whereas, despite the national measures already
COMMUNITIES,                                                    introduced to encourage investment, the volume of
                                                                investment in energy — and especially in the rational
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the                    use of energy (0,4 % of gross domestic product
European Economic Community, and in particular                  (GDP) in 1980) — has remained insufficient;
Article 235 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,              Whereas the Community should therefore provide an
                                                                additional active aid to investment in the rational use
Having regard to the opinion of the European                    of energy;
Parliament,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                Whereas certain categories of investment in this field
Social Committee,                                               are especially important in ensuring the achievement
                                                                of the energy policy objectives, particularly the
Whereas, pursuant to Article 2 of the Treaty, the               diversification of sources of energy and the modifying
Community has as its task to promote throughout the             of the pattern of demand, and in consequence are of
Community a harmonious development of economic                  great public interest;
activities, a continuous and balanced expansion and
an increase in stability;                                       Whereas this applies to investments designed to
                                                                exploit industrial waste heat, or recover heat from
Whereas there exists in this context a critical need for        waste or to encourage the use of solid fuel in the
the Community to diversify its energy supplies and              production of heat for district heating systems;
to switch away from oil to alternative forms of
energy;                                                         Whereas this also applies to investment enabling firms
                                                                to replace more rapidly oil-fired plant by coal-fired
Whereas it is also important in this context that the
structure of energy demand should be modified so as             plant using novel high-yield techniques;
to reduce substantially and permanently the constraint
which excessive energy dependence still imposes on              Whereas this applies equally to investments in the
the economic activity of the Community;                         preparation of coal to render this fuel economically
                                                                attractive for use in heat-generating plant the
Whereas at the same time the structure of demand for            location, size, and fuel requirements of which vary
energy cannot be sufficiently modified without a                widely;
volume of investment markedly higher than that
which has so far been made in the Community as a                Whereas this applies equally to investments designed
whole;                                                          to produce energy from urban, agricultural and
                                                                industrial waste, and also from agricultural by-
Whereas in the present situation many producers and             products ;
consumers hesitate before making the requisite
investments, particularly as a result of the uncertainty
about the prospects of the economy or in respect of             Whereas the commitment of these categories of
energy;                                                         investment encounters economic and financial
                                                                obstacles arising from uncertainty about the future
                                                                course of energy prices, the long payback period
                                                                generally required for investment, the cost of
O OJ No C 285, 30. 10. 1982, p. 5.                              equipment, high and unstable interest rates, cash flow
 ---pagebreak--- 14.7.83                          Official Journal of the European Communities                               N o C 188/11
constraints on commercial enterprises and budgetary          Category 2 :
constraints which restrict the activity of certain           investment in the conversion of industrial fuel-oil-
organizations, especially local authorities;                 fired plant to solid fuels such as coal, lignite and peat.
Whereas there is a need to bring into play the               Category 3:
Community's lending instruments which are suitable
                                                             investment in operations related to the preparation of
for accelerating the implementation of investment
                                                             solid fuels for users other than power stations and
projects falling under one of the four headings set out
                                                             coking plants including gasification granulation and
above, these investment projects having been hindered
                                                              mixtures of oil and water.
hitherto by the obstacles and uncertainties referred to
above;
                                                             Category 4:
                                                             investment in the generation of energy from urban,
Whereas the granting of a specific incentive funded
                                                             agricultural and industrial waste and from agricultural
from the budget of the European Communities —
                                                             by-products.
and associated with, and where appropriate additional
to, other national or Community incentives — would
be capable of initiating or accelerating the decisions                                 Article 2
to invest;
                                                             Subject to approval of the granting of a subsidized
                                                             loan, the Commission shall decide on the eligibility of
Whereas, in this context, it is appropriate that             projects for an interest rebate in accordance with the
investors granted loans under the terms of Article 54        following guidelines:
of the ECSC Treaty should also be eligible for such
                                                             — the investment must be consistent with the energy
incentives;
                                                                  objectives of the Community,
                                                             — the investment must make use in an efficient
Whereas such investments are likely to have                       manner of adequately proven technology,
significant positive effects on economic and industrial
activity, competitiveness and hence on employment;           — the investment must be consistent with the
                                                                  provisions of the Treaty and of derived
                                                                  legislation, particularly in the area of competition,
Whereas the granting of these aids by the Community               in addition to Community regulations and policies
must not affect the conditions of competition in a                which apply to the cases in question.
manner incompatible with the relevant principles set
out in the Treaty;
                                                                                       Article 3
Whereas the Treaty does not provide the specific
powers necessary for these purposes,                          1.    Subject to the provisions of Article 5 (2), the
                                                             rate and duration of the interest rebate referred to in
                                                             paragraph 1 shall be as follows:
                                                             — 3 % per annum for a period of 10 years in the
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:                                      case of category 1,
                                                             — 3 % per annum for a period of five years for
                         Article 1                                categories 2, 3 and 4.
Investment which falls within one of the four cate-          2.     When the interest rebate applies to ECSC loans,
gories set out below and which is in receipt either of       the sum is paid directly to the investor. In all other
loans granted by the European Investment Bank from           cases, it will be paid to the EIB.
its own resources, or of loans granted under the
                                                             3.     Where appropriate in the view of the Commission
Council decisions empowering the Commission to
                                                             and EIB, the interest rate rebate may be wholly or
contract loans under the New                 Community
                                                             partly capitalized in order to provide a postponement of
Instrument, or of loans granted under Article 54 of
                                                             principle and/or interest payments for up to two
the ECSC Treaty, may receive a specific incentive
                                                             years.
granted in the form of an interest rebate:
Category 1:                                                                             Article 4
investment in heat generation for district-heating           The procedure governing applications for subsidized
systems using industrial waste heat, solid fuels and         loans, their payment and their administration will be
waste material and for combined heat and power               in accordance with the rules and procedures
systems designed to use the waste heat from existing         governing each of the individual lending instruments
power stations and industrial plants.                        listed in Article 1.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 188/12                          Official Journal of the European Communities                          14.7.83
                         Article 5                           the appropriations provided for this purpose in the
                                                             general budget of the European Communities.
The financial incentives provided for in Article 1 of
this Regulation may be additional to:
                                                                                      Article 7
(a) the subsidy of certain loans granted in the context
     of the European Monetary System and to aids             1.    Provisions for the implementation of this Regu-
     paid from the Regional Development Fund;                lation shall be adopted by the Commission.
(b) subsidies which may in certain cases be granted
                                                             2.    Except in respect of rebates on ECSC loans, the
     under Article 54 of the ECSC Treaty. In this case
                                                             application of this Regulation shall be covered by a
     the rate and duration of the rebate granted in
                                                             Cooperation Agreement between the Commission and
     respect of this Regulation shall be limited to 2 %
                                                             the European Investment Bank.
     per year over five years;
(c) existing national aids, subject to conditions to be                               Article 8
     fixed by the Commission.
                                                             This Regulation shall come into force on 1 January
                         Article 6                           1983; it shall apply until 31 December 1987.
Sums payable in respect of incentives granted under          This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
this Regulation shall be paid by the Commission from         directly applicable in all Member States.