CELEX: 51985PC0029(01)
Language: en
Date: 1985-02-25
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) ON THE PROMOTION, BY THE GRANTING OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT, OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS RELATING TO THE EXPLOITATION OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES AND TO ENERGY SAVING AND THE SUBSTITUTION OF HYDROCARBONS

3. 5. 85                               Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 109/3
                                                              II
                                                      (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Regulation on the promotion, by the granting of financial support, of
              demonstration projects relating to the exploitation of alternative energy sources and to energy
                                        saving and the substitution of hydrocarbons
                                                      COM(85) 29 final
                             (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 25 February 1985)
                                                       (85/C 109/03)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                          Whereas, in its resolution of 15      January 1985 on the
                                                                  improvement of the Member             States' energy-saving
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European             programmes (3), the Council            took note of the
Economic Community, and in particular Article 235                 Commission's intention to pursue     its action in favour of
thereof,                                                          the rational use of energy;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                Whereas the development of an energy strategy for the
                                                                  Community calls for an adequate level of investment in
                                                                  alternatives to oil as an energy source and in the more
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-
                                                                  rational use of energy, together with the continuation of
liament,
                                                                  research, development and demonstration policies at
                                                                  Community level;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,
                                                                  Whereas, despite the present energy situation, there must
                                                                  be no slackening of efforts to save energy and diversify
Whereas, pursuant to Article 2 of the Treaty, the                 the Community's energy supplies;
Community has as its task to promote throughout the
Community a harmonious development of economic
activities, a continuous and balanced expansion and an            Whereas support for innovatory demonstration projects
increase in stability;                                            aimed at improving the efficiency with which energy is
                                                                  used and making use of alternatives to hydrocarbons as
Whereas the more rational use of energy, by energy                energy sources is still an important means of contributing
saving and the exploitation of alternatives to hydro-             to the attainment of the abovementioned objectives;
carbons, should make an effective contribution towards
the attainment of these objectives;                               Whereas the Community and the Member States have
                                                                  adopted research, development and demonstration
Whereas, in its resolution of 9 June 1980 concerning              programmes in the fields of energy saving and renewable
Community energy policy objectives for 1990 and                   energy sources; whereas a Community programme of
convergence of the policies of the Member States ('), the         support for demonstration projects in these fields must
Council affirmed the need to step up efforts to save              contribute to the wide dissemination of the results of
energy and reduce the Community's oil consumption and             these programmes;
imports;
                                                                  Whereas demonstration           links the research       and
Whereas, in the resolution of 25 July 1983, the Council           development stage, sometimes tested on pilot plant, and
approved the concept of a scientific and technical                the later investment stage; whereas it differs from the
strategy for Europe, and in particular approved the               research and development and pilot stages in the
objectives for Community research, development and                industrial scale of projects and the requirement that there
demonstration activities as laid down in the Framework            be prospects of economic viability, and from the
Programme 1984-1987 ( 2 );                                        investment stage in that the inherent risks are still too
                                                                  high for entrepreneurs;
0) OJ No C 149, 18. 6. 1980, p. 1.
(2) OJNo C 208, 4. 8. 1983, p. 1.                                 (3) OJ No C 20, 22. 1. 1985, p. 1.
 ---pagebreak---   l^oCtO^                                                       COfficial journal of the European Communities                                                  3.^.^
  whereas financial support should he granted^ after the                                    ^^5A^eorr^or^^^^OLAr^^
  research        and         development                 staged       for    suitahle
  demonstration projects^ in ^ i e ^ o f the considerahlerisks
  and investment ^hich the application of innovatory
  techniques might entails                                                                  Under theconditions laid d o ^ n inthis Regulations the
  whereas support for such projects ^ill help to strengthen                                 Community                 may      grant       financial    support   for
                                                                                            demonstration projects relating to the exploitation of
  confidence in their execution and ^dll encourage
                                                                                            alternative energy sources a n d t o e n e r g y saving a n d t h e
^ replication of such projects within the Community^
                                                                                            suhstitution of hydrocarhons^ as defined in Articled.
  whereas the execution of theseprojects couldresult in
  the development in the Community of industries
  possessing the relevant skills ^dth potential markets of
  some importance outside the Community^                                                    t.       Eor the purposes of this Regulations projects
                                                                                            relating t o t h e e x p l o i t a t i o n o f alternative energy sources
  whereas the granting hy the Community of the
                                                                                            means projects to exploit any potential source of energy^
  advantages envisaged must not adversely affect the
                                                                                            ^dth the exception of nuclear energy.
  conditions of competition i n a m a n n e r i n c o m p a t i h l e ^ i t h
  the principles e m h o d i e d i n t h e relevant provisions of the
  Treaty^                                                                                   E o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f thisRegulation^projectsrelatingto
                                                                                            energy saving means projects ^hichin^ol^easignificant
  whereas those henefiting should undertake ohligations                                     improvement in the efficiency ^ i t h ^ h i c h energy is used.
  towards the Community in return for the advantages
  they are to he granted^                                                                   E o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f thisRegulation^projectsrelatingto
                                                                                            the suhstitution of hydrocarhons means projects
  whereas the Community has already undertaken a
                                                                                            exploitingenergy processes ^hich replace hydrocarhons
  Community demonstration programme in the fields of
  energy sa^ing^ alternative energy sources and suhstitution                                hased processes.
  pursuant to Council Regulations ^ E E C ^ o t ^ O ^ B ^ e ^
  t^EEC^ l^o t 3 0 ^ B ^ ^ and ^EEC^ ^ o l ^ ^ B ^ t^                                       ^.       Alist of the fields of application of this Regulation
  concerning the granting of financial support for projects                                 is gi^en in A n n e x l a s regards exploitation of alternative
  to exploit alternative energy source and                                         for      energy sources^ in Annex 11 as regards energy saving and
  demonstration projects in the field of energy saving                                      in Annex 111 as regards the suhstitution of hydrocarhons.
  respecti^ely^^hereas Regulation ^EEC^ l^lo l ^ ^ B ^ is
  applicahleuntil^tPOecemhert^^^
                                                                                            The Commission may propose to the Council additions
  whereas theCommissionhase^aluatedthisprogramme                                            to the suhheadings in this list.The Council shall act h y a
  in reports ^hich it has suhmitted to the Council and the                                  qualified majority.
  European R a r l i a m e n t o n t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h o s e R e g u
  lations^ whereas this evaluation should he continued and
  adapted^ taking account of the experience gained^
                                                                                            1.       All demonstration projects within the meaning of
  whereas a Regulation on the granting of financial                                         A r t i c l e s l a n d ^ m u s t satisfy the following conditions^
  support for demonstration projects relating to the
  exploitationof alternative energy sources^energy saving
  and thesuhstitution of hydrocarhons^ and a Regulation                                     — they must relate to the creation of fulPsi^e instaP
  on t h e g r a n t i n g o f f i n a n c i a l s u p p o r t f o r pilot industrial             lations enahling alternative energy sources to he
  projectsanddemonstrationprojectsrelatinghothtothe                                               exploited or energy to he sa^ed or hydrocarhons to
  liquefaction and gasification of solid fuels are hoth                                          he suhstituted in significant quantities^
  equally necessary andurgent t o x o i d an interruption in
  theprogrammes^hich^dllcontrihute^ in amultiannual                                         — they must exploit innovatory techniques^ processes or
  context^to the implementation of the energy strategy of                                        products or a n e ^ application of techniques^
  the Community^                                                                                  processes or products ^hich are already kno^n^
  ^hereas^ hecause of technical differences het^een the
  projects concerned^theprogrammesmust he co^eredhy                                         — they must he hased on completed research and
  t ^ o separate Regulations^                                                                    development ^ork^
  whereas the freaty does not provide the                                     powers        — they must offer promising prospects of industrial and
  necessary for this purposed                                                                    commercial ^iahility^
                                                                                            — they must he such as to encourage the commercial
                                                                                                 development of the techniques process or products
                                                                                                 and they must envisage actions and means for
  ^eoj^oLt^t^^                       t^^DD                                                       replicating the same type of projects
 ---pagebreak--- 3.5.85                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                              No C 109/5
— they should, as a general rule, be submitted by the                                        Article 5
    persons or undertakings which produce the
    abovementioned techniques, processes or products;              1.     Projects shall be submitted by persons or under-
    projects proposed by persons or undertakings which             takings or groups thereof within the Community
    use these techniques, processes or products shall be           following an invitation to submit projects published in
    taken into consideration only if such persons or               the Official Journal of the European Communities in
    undertakings enter into partnership with the persons           accordance with this Regulation.
    or undertakings which produce the techniques,
    processes or products in question,                             Projects may also be submitted by bodies involved,
                                                                   within the Member States, in the promotion of
                                                                   technological innovation in small or medium-sized
— they must present difficulties with regard to finance            undertakings.
    because of the considerable technical and economic
    risks involved, to the extent that they would very
                                                                   2.     On the basis of the information provided by
    probably not be carried out without public, national
    and/or Community financial support, and must be                applicants in response to the invitation referred to in
    accompanied by a finance plan,                                 paragraph 1, the Commission shall assess projects in the
                                                                   light of the provisions of Article 3.
— they should, in principle, be carried out within the             The Commission shall first of all eliminate projects
    territory of the Community. However, in so far as it           which do not satisfy the conditions set out in Article
    is apparent that the execution (complete or partial) of        3(1).
    a project in a third country, for example in a
    developing country, is consonant with Community                The Commission shall examine the content of the
    interest, particularly on account of its special char-         projects in relation to other Community programmes and
    acteristics, financial support may also be granted to          shall avoid all duplication.
    such a project.
                                                                   3.    The Commission shall decide whether to grant
                                                                   support for projects after consulting the Advisory
2.    Subject to the conditions set out in paragraph 1, the
                                                                   Committee on the Management of Demonstration
Commission may give favourable consideration to
                                                                   Projects, made up of representatives from the Member
projects which
                                                                   States.
— are the subject of cooperation between persons or                The Committee, which shall be chaired by a represen-
    undertakings from two or more Member States, or                tative of the Commission, shall draw up its rules of
                                                                   procedure; the tasks of the Committee are set out in
                                                                   Annex IV. The Commission's decision shall be
— offer particularly appropriate solutions with regard to          communicated to the Council and the Member States
    protection of the environment.                                 and to the European Parliament, for information.
                                                                                             Article 6
                           Article 4
                                                                   1.    The person or persons responsible for the execution
1.    Financial support may be granted for a project as a          of a project in receipt of support from the Community
whole or for the various stages of a project.                      shall undertake to exploit, or cause to be exploited, the
Exceptionally and in duly justified cases where there are          successfully-demonstrated technique, process or product
no feasibility studies known and available for similar             and to have the results disseminated.
projects, the feasibility study phase may, after the
Advisory Committee referred to in Article 5 (3) has been
consulted, also receive financial support.                         2.    The Commission shall take appropriate measures
                                                                   with regard to the dissemination of the results so as to
                                                                   assist the person or persons responsible for the execution
                                                                   of a project in the commercial development of the succ-
2.    Support shall not exceed 49 °/o of the eligible cost         essfully demonstrated technique, process or product and
of the project. The level of support shall be determined           to encourage replication thereof.
for each project individually, in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 5. In determining the
level of support, the Commission shall take account of             3.    The Commission may require repayment of all or
other aid received or expected, so that the sum total of           part of the financial support granted if the person (or
Community support and national support does not as a               persons) responsible for the execution of the project does
general rule exceed 49 % of the total cost of the project,         not (do not) secure in appropriate fashion the
and of the share of the risk which should be borne                 commercial       development       of  the     successfully
directly by those responsible for the project.                     demonstrated technique, process or product.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 109/6                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                     3.5.85
                          Article 7                                                            Article 9
1.    The Commission shall negotiate and conclude the               The advantages granted by the Community must not
contracts necessary for the execution of projects selected          adversely affect the conditions of competition in a
pursuant to Article 5. To that end, it shall draw up a              manner incompatible with the principles embodied in the
model contract available on request setting forth the               relevant provisions of the Treaty.
rights and obligations of each party, any repayment of
financial support granted and the procedures for access                                       Article 10
to and dissemination of information.
                                                                    A report shall be made         by the Commission to the
2.    The person or persons responsible for executing a             Council and the European      Parliament on the application
project in receipt of Community support shall send the              of this Regulation and on      consistency between national
Commission, every six months or at its request, a report            and Community measures,        to enable a better assessment
on the fulfilment of contractual obligations towards the            to be made of the results.
Commission and, in particular, on the progress of work
on the project and the expenditure incurred in carrying it                                    Article 11
out.
                                                                    The amounts to be granted under this Regulation shall
3.    The Commission shall have access at all times to              be entered each year in the general budget of the
the accounts relating to the project. It may have checks            European Communities.
carried out on-the-spot and the basis of documents                  The amount of appropriations estimated necessary to be
enabling it to follow the performance of the contract               granted under this Regulation totals 545 million ECU.
and, in particular, the progress made on projects and the           That amount shall cover the financial support to be
execution thereof.                                                  granted to the projects selected and the expenditure
                                                                    relating to the implementation of this Regulation.
4.    Where the extent of Community financial support
and the size of the project so warrant, the Commission                                        Article 12
may participate as an observer in meetings of the bodies
responsible for the management of projects.                         Regulation (EEC) No 1972/83 is hereby repealed.
                                                                    However, that Regulation shall continue to apply in
                          Article 8                                 respect of projects submitted in accordance with
                                                                    invitations to submit projects published pursuant thereto.
All projects shall be the responsibility of a natural person
or a legal person subject to the laws of the Member
States.                                                                                       Article 13
If the creation of a legal entity with the legal capacity to        This Regulation shall enter into force on the day
carry out a project involves additional costs for the parti-        following its publication in the Official Journal of the
cipating undertakings, the project may be carried out               European Communities.
simply on the basis of cooperation between natural or
                                                                    It shall apply until 31 December 1990.
legal persons. In that case, such persons shall be jointly
and severally liable for the obligations resulting from             This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
Community support.                                                  directly applicable in all Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- 3.5.85                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                   No C 109/7
                                                                ANNEX       I
                                 EXPLOITATION O F ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES
                                      List of fields of application eligible under this Regulation
       The order of this list does not imply any priority.
        1.     Biomass and energy from waste
               For the purposes of this Regulation 'demonstration projects relating to biomass and energy from
               waste' means projects which make it possible to derive energy directly or indirectly from any form of
               plant, animal, urban or industrial waste ('), or projects which in justified cases use plants specially
               grown for energy purposes.
               Projects in this sector must fall into one of the following two categories:
               Category 1: Projects making an innovative direct use of plant, animal, urban or industrial (') waste;
                              or of plants specially grown for energy purposes.
               Category 2: Projects demonstrating innovative techniques for converting biomass and waste into
                              derived fuels or chemical or biochemical products, and projects involving an innovative
                              use of such derived products.
       2.     Wind energy
               For the purposes of this Regulation 'demonstration projects relating to wind energy' means projects
               involving the centralized generation of electricity for supplying grids and decentralized applications
               for direct supply to users.
               Several identical wind energy plants cannot in general be supported within the framework of one
               project.
              Apart from the innovative nature of the projects, account will be taken, when assessing them, of the
               technical solutions chosen with a view to:
              — substantially reducing the investment costs,
              — exploiting to the full the available wind resources.
               In addition, special attention will be paid to environmental and institutional aspects (building auth-
               orization, connection to the grid etc.).
               Fields of application
       2.1.    Electricity generation
       2.2.    Other applications.
       3.      Geothermal energy
               For the purposes of this Regulation 'demonstration projects relating to geothermalenergy' means
              projects to exploit energy extracted in the form of heat from underground strata by means of
              drilling. Projects involving geothermal exploitation where the temperature of the geothermal water is
              below 30 ° C are normally excluded. Projects to exploit geothermal reservoirs about which little is
              known and projects using now techniques or technologies for underground operations and surface
              equipment are regarded as having priority.
       (') Excluding the types of waste covered in Annex III (solid fuels).
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 109/8                                Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s                      3.5.85
                   Fields of application:
            3.1.   Space-heating in new or existing residential, public or industrial premises and production of
                   domestic hot water.
            3.2.   Heating of greenhouses and agricultural premises; and in pisciculture and aquaculture.
            3.3.   Use of heat for industrial operations, e.g. heating                     and    preheating,  drying, dehydration,
                   concentration, heat treatment and other processes.
            3.4.   Electricity generation.
            4.     Hydro-electric power
                   For the purposes of this Regulation 'demonstration projects relating to hydro-electric power' means
                   projects exploiting low-power (below 3 000 kW) and generally low-head, hydro-electric resources in
                   order to generate electricity for either the public supply grid or direct users in industry or agri-
                   culture. Such projects must be particularly innovative, involving, for example:
                   on the technological side:
                   — simplification and standardization for mass production,
                   — use of new materials (moulded materials, resins, etc.),
                   — improvement of turbine-speed regulation systems and/or alternator regulation systems;
                   on the operating side:
                   — application of control and management techniques (remote control, telemetry, micro-processors,
                       etc.),
                   — optimized exploitation of resources, e.g. through centralized management and multi-purpose
                       projects (electricity generation, irrigation etc.),
                   When assessing proposals in this sector, account will also be taken of how the projects match the
                   environmental and institutional aspects (project authorization and the generation and transmission of
                   electricity, etc.).
            5.     Solar energy
                   For the purposes of this Regulation, 'demonstration projects relating to solar energy' means projects
                   in which solar energy is converted for thermal end-use by way of active or passive processes or
                   technology or is converted by way of photovoltaic processes.
                   Special attention must be paid to the environmental aspects of the installation and arrangement of
                   solar collectors and photovoltaic modules.
                   Combinations of different processes and storage devices may be envisaged for the same projects.
                   Fields of application
            5.1.    Thermal, active and passive
                   Space heating, production of domestic hot water, air conditioning, and process heat for
            5.1.1. Buildings,
            5.1.2. Industry,
            5.1.3. Agriculture.
                   In the case of active solar energy, preference will be given to advanced solar collectors, e.g.
                   evacuated tube collectors.
                   Solar-heated swimming pools are excluded. Where houses are for one-family occupation, the
                   demonstration must be for groups of not less than five houses.
                   The production of domestic hot water is accepted only in combination with the heating and/or air
                   conditioning of buildings.
 ---pagebreak--- 3.5.85                                Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s                N o C 109/9
       5.2.    Photovoltaics
              Electricity generation to supply
       5.2.1. isolated applications, e.g. for houses, groups of houses, small villages, means of telecommunication,
              signalling devices, alarms,
       5.2.2. water pumping, desalination and other suitable industrial applications.
                                                               ANNEX       II
                                                        ENERGY SAVINGS
                                        List of fields of application under this Regulation
       The order of this list does not imply any priority.
       1.    Buildings
       1.1. Simple and economic technologies for upgrading the energy performance of existing buildings by
             demonstrating more efficient methods of heating/air conditioning for premises, production of
             domestic hot water, heat regulation, control and metering; techniques for improving the thermal
             characteristics of buildings (insulation, airtightness), techniques for recovering heat from extracted air.
       1.2. Demonstration of new processes or products for new buildings with a heated volume of 2 000 m3 or
             more, taking into account problems concerning condensation, ventilation, thermal inertia, and fire
             and safety regulations.
       2.    Industry
       2.1. Technologies designed to alter the manufacturing process significantly with a view to reducing sub-
             stantially energy consumption per unit of production under acceptable economic conditions.
       2.2. Projects using innovative technologies or new equipment with a view to:
             — reducing energy consumption by rationalizing an existing manufacturing process,
             — recycling residual heat, in particular by means of heat pumps.
       2.3. Project based on proven techniques where the combination of several such techniques constitutes an
             innovation and/or a new application of one or more known technologies presents particular risks.
       3.    Energy industry
       3.1. More efficient methods of producing heat and/or electricity for collective use; methods exploiting
             residual heat in district heating concepts; demonstration of very large heat pumps.
       3.2. More efficient gas-distribution methods, e.g. by recovering expansion energy.
       4.    Transports
             The projects, in all transport sectors, should enable appreciable energy savings to be achieved, and
             offer good prospects of replication, under acceptable economic conditions.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 109/10                                 Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s          3.5.85
                                                                     ANNEX        III
                                                 SUBSTITUTION OF HYDROCARBONS
                                           List of fields of application eligible under this Regulation
            The order of this list does not imply any priority.
            For the purposes of this Regulation 'demonstration projects relating to the substitution of hydrocarbons'
            means projects which involve the use of non-renewable sources instead of liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons,
            without leading to a significant increase in primary energy consumption.
            1.     Solid fuels
                   The projects under this heading relate to new or improved technologies for the handling, transpor-
                   tation, combustion, treatment and storage of coal, lignite and peat and their waste products, taking
                   into account environmental problems.
                   Projects relating to the large-scale gasification and liquefaction of solid fuels with a view to the
                   decentralized use of derived fuels fall under the term Regulation (EEC) No 1971/83 (').
            1.1. New processes for solid fuel utilization:
                   — fluidized beds under pressure or at atmospheric pressure, including those applied to small
                       industrial installations,
                   — mixtures of solid fuels with liquids,
                   — processes integrated into the end-use cycle.
            1.2. Treatment, upgrading, disposal or use of gaseous, liquid and solid wastes produced during mining,
                   handling and use of solid fuels.
            2.     Use of electric power
                   The projects in this field relate to new techniques for using electric power generated mainly from
                   energy sources other than hydrocarbons.
            2.1. Demonstration, by manufacturers of industrial equipment, of new techniques using electrical energy
                   for thermal, electrochemical and electromechanical applications.
            2.2. New types of accumulators.
            2.3. Demonstration of new methods of electricity demand management.
            3.     Heat transmission, distribution and storage
                   The projects in this field relate to the demonstration of new techniques for the transmission, distri-
                   bution and storage of heat produced mainly from energy sources other than hydrocarbons.
            3.1. Heat transmission over medium and long distances in industry and district heating systems.
            3.2. More efficient and more economic heat-distribution techniques.
            3.3. New heat-storage techniques (daily, weekly and seasonal accumulators) in industry and district-
                   heating systems.
            3.4. Demonstration of new demand-management methods in district heating systems.
            ( l ) O] N o L 195, 19. 7. 1983, p. 1.
 ---pagebreak--- 3. 5. 85                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                   N o C 109/11
                                                            ANNEX IV
                   Tasks for the Advisory Committee on the Management of Demonstration Projects (ACMDP)
            1. The ACMDP, comprising two representatives of each Member State, will meet in an advisory capacity
               to examine the projects for selection. The ACMDP will:
               (a) assist the Commission in the selection of projects on the basis of an opinion being given on each
                   project submitted;
               (b) collaborate with the Commission to help ensure consistency between Community demonstration
                   programmes and provide the necessary information on similar measures implemented nationally;
               (c) assist the Commission with a view to the periodic evaluation of Community demonstration
                   programmes and provide the necesary information on similar measures implemented nationally;
               (d) cooperate with the Commission in helping to ensure an appropriate flow of information to those
                   concerned with the demonstration programmes of both the Community and its Member States and
                   the optimum dissemination of the results of these programmes.
           2. Furthermore, the ACMDP will be asked to meet at least once a year, so that it can discuss and issue an
               opinion.
               (a) annually, on the priorities and corresponding criteria to be determined for calls for tenders in the
                   various energy demonstration sectors for the following year;
               (b) on measures to ensure the dissemination of information in order to achieve better consistency
                   between Community and national demonstration programmes.
               (c) on the optimum dissemination of the results of these programmes.
               (d) on the periodic evaluation of Community and national programmes which has to be submitted,
                   approximately every two years, to the Council and European Parliament.
            Proposal for a Council Regulation on the promotion, by the granting of financial support, of
           pilot industrial projects and demonstration projects relating to the liquefaction and gasification
                                                           of solid fuels
                                                         COM(85) 29 final
                              (submitted by the Commission to the Council on 25 February 1985)
                                                          (85/C 109/04)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                              Whereas, pursuant to Article 2 of the Treaty, the
                                                                      Community has as its task to promote throughout the
                                                                      Community a harmonious development of economic
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                 activities, a continuous and balanced expansion and an
Economic Community, and in particular Article 235                     increase in stability;
thereof,
                                                                      Whereas the Council resolution of 9 June 1980 (')
                                                                      defined the new energy policy objectives for the
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
                                                                      Community, which amount to an effort to reduce
                                                                      dependence on oil by reducing its consumption to a level
                                                                      of 40 % of gross primary energy consumption as a result
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia-                  of a more rational use of energy and greater diversi-
ment,                                                                 fication of supplies;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,                                                     (') OJ No C 149, 18. 6. 1980, p. 1.