Council Regulation (EC) No 736/96 of 22 April 1996 on notifying the Commission of investment projects of interest to the Community in the petroleum, natural gas and electricity sectors

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 736/96 of 22 April 1996 on notifying the Commission of investment projects of interest to the Community in the petroleum, natural gas and electricity sectors
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 213 thereof,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 187 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas, for the sake of clarity, on the occasion of new amendments, it is necessary to reformulate Council Regulation (EEC) No 1056/72 of 18 May 1972 on notifying the Commission of investment projects of interest to the Community in the petroleum, natural gas and electricity sectors (4);
Whereas the introduction of a common energy policy is one of the objectives which the Community has set itself; whereas it is the task of the Commission to propose the measures to be taken for this purpose;
Whereas the information gathered pursuant to the said Regulation is necessary for the Commission's ongoing activities and whereas these data are the Commission's only official source of information on developments in production, processing and transmission capacity in the electricity, petroleum and natural gas sectors;
Whereas, after studying the communication made to it by the Commission on 18 December 1968 on initial guidelines for a Community energy policy, the Council, during its 88th meeting held on 13 November 1969:
- approved the basic principles of that communication in the light of the report from the Permanent Representatives Committee,
- requested the Commission to put before it as soon as possible the most urgent concrete proposals in this field,
- agreed to study these proposals as soon as possible in order to establish a Community energy policy;
Whereas obtaining an overall picture of the development of investments in the Community is one feature of such a policy, in particular in order to enable the Community to make the necessary comparisons;
Whereas the accomplishment of that task requires the most accurate information possible on investments; whereas, with regard to coal and atomic energy, undertakings are under an obligation, pursuant to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community and the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, to notify their investment projects; whereas it is desirable to supplement such information with particulars relating to petroleum, natural gas and electricity; whereas, to this end, the Commission should be informed of investment projects which are of interest to the Community in the sectors concerned;
Whereas, so that the Commission may carry out its task, it should also be informed in good time of any fundamental alteration in such projects, in particular as regards the period required for carrying them out and the planned capacity; whereas, as a result, communication of such particulars is similarly indispensable;
Whereas Member States should for this purpose communicate to the Commission, with any comments they may have, particulars of investment projects concerning production, storage and distribution of petroleum, natural gas or electric power planned in their territory; whereas to this end the persons and undertakings concerned must be under an obligation to communicate to the Member State the information in question;
Whereas some Member States have no need to maintain this obligation on the persons and undertakings concerned in order to ascertain the investment projects which must subsequently be notified to the Commission;
Whereas, because of the technical, financial, industrial and social aspects of investment projects in the electricity sector, there is a growing tendency to formulate such projects at least five years before the expected commencement of work;
Whereas it is therefore necessary to ensure that the Commission is notified of investment projects in the electricity sector on which work is expected to commence within five years of 1 January of the current year;
Whereas, in the case of petroleum refining, investment in desulphurization plants for residues, gas oil, feedstock or other petroleum products is of increasing importance in view of the strict quality standards to be adopted within the Community in order to control pollution;
Whereas Article 41 and 42 of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community provide that the Commission must receive notification of any kind of nuclear investment project not later than three months before the first contracts are concluded with the suppliers or three months before the works begins; whereas this means that in fact notification of projects is given when they are at a very advanced stage and then only at the initiative of and on the date chosen by the person or undertaking making the investment;
Whereas, in order to assist manufacturing industry in undertaking the investment and adjustments necessary for the supply of heavy plant under the investment programmes relating to electric power supplies, the Commission must be informed of the projects involved in these programmes sufficiently far in advance of their implementation to be able to provide industry with information - the exact form varying according to the degree of final commitment reached with regard to the construction plans - which will enable an accurate assessment to be made of the technical, financial and social risks involved;
Whereas, in the electricity and natural gas sectors, investment projects relating respectively to underground and submarine transmission cables and gas pipelines, which constitute essential links in national or international interconnecting networks as well as in the trans-European networks, are of interest to the Community; whereas the Commission needs information on such projects to enable it to carry out its task in the electricity and natural gas sectors; whereas provision should be made to ensure that such projects are communicated to the Commission;
Whereas experience has shown that the dates of 15 February and 15 January leave the persons and undertakings concerned and the Member States insufficient time to collect the information necessary;
Whereas it is desirable to enable the Commission to prescribe, where appropriate, certain practical details, such as the form and content of the notifications to be made;
Whereas experience has shown that some of the data collected impose administrative constraints which go further than necessary, in relation to the advantages which can be expected; whereas it is necessary to reduce and change the data collected;
Whereas observance of the obligations provided for in this Regulation and the confidential nature of the information collected should be ensured,