Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-23-Speech-2-305"
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"en.20030923.9.2-305"2
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"Mr President, the matter now before us has been an awkward one for the Council. Nevertheless, the long period of time during which the Council has considered the matter – one lasting more than five years – has been a disappointment. Now is the time to put the disappointment to one side; making headway in the debate on the directive is the next step in an inevitable direction. I am happy to note that it is just this sort of practical approach that we also see in the report drawn up by Parliament’s rapporteur.
The Council has declared a commitment to adopt instruments to be able to decouple economic growth from energy consumption. The Commission has also committed itself to such aims, and so has Parliament. In principle it is therefore not an obstacle to significant change. In practice it is sorely needed. The directive now up for discussion offers an opportunity for this and it is our responsibility to implement it soon. In the integrated European economy the solution must be more coherent than ever.
While energy taxation satisfies the parliamentary needs of Member States, at the same time it provides the means to lighten taxation on labour and employment and is an effective and precise tool for guidance in what is, ecologically speaking, the right direction. Taxation on energy products is the link that has long been missing which ties all the small parts of sustainable development together.
I would furthermore like to raise the matter of the connection between energy taxation and the Directive on emissions trading that was recently completed. Independent studies show that responding to the challenge of climate change will be most favourable in overall financial terms if the reduction for sectors outside the emissions trading scheme is set at the right level. Cuts across the board will not bring that about: we need a comprehensive energy taxation system. We have to ensure that each branch of industry falls within the ambit of either energy taxation or emissions trading. That way, every company, through taxation, will be looking at a maximum price that is the equivalent of the marginal cost to society.
Europe needs an ambitious energy taxation system very quickly. It would seem that the Commission and Parliament are to shoulder the responsibility for establishing one."@en1
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