11 Security of energy supply
| (23825)
12228/02
COM(02) 488
| (a) Commission Communication: The internal market in energy: Coordinated measures on the security of energy supply.
(b) Draft Directive concerning the alignment of measures with regard to security of supply for petroleum products.
(c) Draft Directive concerning measures to safeguard security of natural gas supply.
(d) Draft Council Directive repealing Council Directives 68/414/EEC and 98/93/EC imposing an obligation on Member States of the EEC to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products, and Council Directive 73/238/EEC on measures to mitigate the effects of difficulties in the supply of crude oil and petroleum products.
(e) Draft Council Decision repealing Council Decision 68/416/EEC on the conclusion and implementation of individual agreements between governments relating to the obligation of Member States to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products and Council Decision 77/706/EEC on the setting of a Community target for a reduction in the consumption of primary sources of energy in the event of difficulties in the supply of crude oil and petroleum products.
|
| Legal base | (b) and (c): Article 95 EC; co-decision; QMV
(d) and (e): Article 100 EC; unanimity
|
| Department | Trade and Industry
|
| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 3 December 2003
|
| Previous Committee Report | HC 63-i (2002-03), paragraph 1 (20 November 2002) and HC 63-xvii (2002-03), paragraph 1 (2 April 2003)
|
| To be discussed in Council | Not applicable
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Cleared (by Resolution of the House of 14 April 2003)
|
Background
11.1 In September 2002, the Commission set out its latest thinking
(document (a)) on the need to safeguard the Communitys energy
supplies. In particular, it noted that, despite the measures
taken to establish the internal market, the Communitys structural
weakness resulting from its reliance on imports makes it vulnerable
to external factors. It also pointed out that, although rules
for the maintenance of stocks of crude oil and petroleum products
are laid down by both the International Energy Agency (IEA) and
the Community itself, the mechanisms concerned are no longer suited
to present circumstances, and it highlighted the lack of any Community
decision-making power to dispose of oil stocks on the market.
It therefore suggested that a more coordinated approach was required,
based upon pre-defined mechanisms. The Communication was accompanied
by two specific legislative proposals, one (document (b)) dealing
the organisation and coordinated use of oil stocks, and
the other (document (c)) with the security of gas supplies.
11.2 As we noted in our Report of 20 November 2002,
the Government had made it clear that the UK was opposed to these
proposals, not least on the grounds that existing IEA and Community
arrangements for holding stocks already provided sufficient cover
for oil supply disruptions; that the proposals on gas were premature,
pending a full liberalisation of Community energy markets; that
the proposals had not been adequately costed by the Commission,
and would impose considerable burdens on Government, business
and the consumer; and that, in terms of subsidiarity, individual
countries, acting as members of the IEA, were best placed to respond
to an international oil emergency. The UK also had reservations
about the suggestion that the proposals should be based on Article
95 of the EC Treaty, believing that Article 100 (which provided
the legal base for the existing oil stocking Directives) may be
more appropriate
11.3 We therefore concluded that these were potentially
highly significant proposals, not only in terms of the likely
costs, but more particularly in relation to the fundamental difference
between the Government and the Commission over the extent to which
action of this kind should be taken by the Community as opposed
to individual Member States. In view of this, and the Governments
reservations over the legal base proposed, we recommended the
document for debate in European Standing Committee C. That debate
took place on 8 April 2003, immediately after we had produced
a further Report on 2 April 2003 drawing attention to a number
of compromise proposals put forward by the then Greek Presidency.
Ministers letter of 3 December 2003
11.4 In his letter of 3 December 2003, the Minister
of State for Energy, E-commerce and Postal Services at the Department
of Trade and Industry (Mr Stephen Timms) says that, at the Energy
Council held on 14 May 2003, his predecessor had maintained the
UK's opposition to the proposal relating to oil, and that other
Member States had also opposed it, since when there has been no
discussion within the Council at either Ministerial or official
level. He also says that, when the European Parliament gave the
proposal a first reading on 17-20 November, it voted to reject
it, and called upon the Commission to withdraw it. He adds that
the Commission has not yet done so, but that, in the course of
the debate, the Commissioner said that she would not bring forward
any new legislative proposal in this field if the Parliament voted
against it.
Conclusion
11.5 We are grateful to the Minister for this
update on the draft Directive on oil supplies, and, since the
proposal was cleared following the debate in European Standing
Committee C, we are simply noting this development and reporting
it to the House. However, since he makes no reference to the
corresponding proposal on gas supplies, we would be grateful if
he could also keep us in touch with any further discussion which
may have taken place on that.
|
