14 Security of energy supply
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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
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| Legal base | (a) —
(b) and (c) Article 95 EC; co-decision; QMV
(d) and (e) Article 100 EC; unanimity
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| Department | Trade and Industry
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| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 10 May 2004
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| Previous Committee Report | HC 63-i (2002-03), para 1 (20 November 2002), HC 63-xvii (2002-03), para 1 (2 April 2003), HC 42-iii (2003-04), para 11 (17 December 2003) and HC 42-xiv (2003-04), para 9 (24 March 2004)
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| To be discussed in Council | Not applicable
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared (by Resolution of the House of 14 April 2003)
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Background
14.1 In September 2002, the Commission set out its latest thinking
(document (a)) on the need to safeguard the Communitys energy
supplies. That 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. We noted in our
Report of 20 November 2002 that the Government had made it clear
that the UK was opposed to these proposals, and that it also had
reservations about the suggestion that they 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. We therefore concluded that the proposals
should be debated in European Standing Committee C, and that debate
took place on 8 April 2003.
14.2 We subsequently received a letter of 3 December
2003 from the Minister of State for Energy, e-commerce and Postal
Services at the Department of Trade and Industry (Mr Stephen Timms),
in which he said that, at the Energy Council held on 14 May 2003,
his predecessor had maintained the UK's opposition to the proposal
relating to oil (document (b)), and that other Member States had
also opposed it. However, since the Minister's letter made no
reference to the corresponding proposal on gas supplies (document
(c)), we asked in our Report of 17 December to be kept in touch
with any further discussion which had taken place on that.
14.3 In his letter of 10 March 2004, the Minister
said that a general approach to this issue had been agreed at
the Energy Council on 15 December 2003, which represented a substantial
improvement on the original Commission proposal, and was in line
with the UK position. He also said that, following the advice
of the Council Legal Service, the proposed legal base had been
amended to Article 100 (which only requires the European Parliament
to be consulted, whereas Article 95 requires co-decision). However,
the Commission was still maintaining that Article 95 is the correct
base, and the amended text, along with the change in legal base,
was being considered by the European Parliament. We therefore
asked in our Report of 24 March to be kept informed of any further
developments on this point.
Minister's letter of 10 May 2004
14.4 We have now received a letter of 10 May 2004
from the Minister, saying that the European Parliament has agreed
the text approved by the Council, and that this has now been adopted.
Also, Article 100 has been endorsed as the correct legal base.
Conclusion
14.5 We are grateful for this further information,
which we are drawing to the attention of the House.
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