Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-02-04-Speech-1-106"
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"en.20020204.8.1-106"2
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"Mr President, this crucial directive stems directly from the Green Paper on the security of the energy supply, which this House has recently debated at length. We are obviously all aware that the main component of the Union’s energy bill relates to buildings: ventilation, refrigeration, heating, lighting etc. It is within this chapter that most of the Union’s energy expenditure is concentrated. Therefore, anything that is done in this field has a special effect from this point of view.
Mr President, this framework directive marks the end of the era of expressions of will or recommendations. We are entering a new era of decisive commitments, binding actions and a firm will that this type of measure may become a reality.
I wanted to stress three aspects of the directive. The first is the obligation for all buildings in the Union to hold a certificate testifying to their energy efficiency. This certificate will certainly be of great value as a signal within the markets and will contribute significantly to energy saving. The second is the obligation for all new buildings to incorporate an energy-efficiency study as an essential requirement for planning permission. The third aspect is the obligation for all buildings of an area of greater than 1 000 m2 and which are subject to extensive renovation, to undergo an improvement of their energy efficiency.
There are other actions laid down in the directive, but I wanted to highlight these three because they are clearly the ones with the greatest potential. It will not escape you that if – as some studies suggest – it is possible to achieve a saving over the next few years of 20% in the energy bill for buildings, 20% of 40% brings us close to 10% and this, in terms of the oil bill and CO2 emissions, has an importance which is clear to all of us.
Mr President, this is a good time to thank the other groups in the House for their valuable contribution and for their help in ensuring that Parliament’s amendments improve this important legislative text. I would like to thank the Socialist Group and Mrs Zrihen for their numerous contributions and, above all, I would like to stress their interesting suggestion in relation to social housing. I would also like to warmly thank the Group of the Greens and Mrs Ahern for showing such interest and cooperation, and also highlight their wonderful contribution in relation to passive cooling techniques, which are so important in those areas of the Union where the climate is very warm and cooling (air conditioning systems) begins to be a determining factor. I would also like to thank the Liberal Group for emphasising that tax incentives are always better than penalties. We say in Spanish that ‘more is gained by licking than by biting’, and this is also true in the economic field.
Unfortunately, there are two points on which we have not been able to achieve unanimity in the House: firstly, the time limits for application of the directive, where we have opted for a reasonable midpoint between overly extended periods, which would render it ineffective, or overly strict demands, which would make it unviable. Secondly, the limit of 1 000 m2, which the Group of the Greens wanted to reduce. We understand their intention and we share their concern, but if we really want this directive to be implemented within a time scale which makes it effective, we must accept the figure proposed to us by the Commission.
Mr President, if it is the case that politics is the art of making the necessary possible, this directive will effectively guarantee that, in a very important chapter of the Union’s energy expenditure, there will over the coming decade be a huge saving which will contribute to the well-being, the progress and the security of all Europeans."@en1
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