Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-11-23-Speech-2-070"
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"en.20101123.5.2-070"2
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"Madam President, I repeat what I said in my opening speech: the Commission and I are taking very good note of all the arguments that have been put forward here by all of you, and we will take very good note of Parliament’s position once Mr Rapkay’s report is adopted.
I just have to say that the Commission does not agree with the arguments in favour of unlimited aid for uncompetitive coal mining and would like to remind you that, if there were no new coal regulation based on the Commission’s proposal, what would enter into force from 1 January 2011 would be the general State aid framework, which is considerably stricter than the Commission’s proposal, the proposal that will emerge from the debates in the Council, or the opinion that will emerge from Parliament.
I think that we need to distinguish – as practically all the speeches have done – between coal as a primary energy source and the regulation to govern public aid for uncompetitive coal mines, which is a different thing.
Our proposal, which we are debating today and which the Council will debate in the next few weeks, deals with the second issue, in other words, uncompetitive coal mining rather than the use of coal, which is a separate debate that we have had and will, of course, continue to have in Europe.
Our position is that we need to bring an end to uncompetitive coal mining that requires continuous use of public subsidies, within a fixed period. This position is clear, and it is not the first time that it has been expressed. As some of you have recalled, it dates back a long way. The problem is that the deadlines that were established over time have not been respected by everyone. The aim of our proposal is to ensure that these deadlines are respected once and for all.
This is a time when, unlike the context in which past debates took place, we have to take into consideration aid for coal mining. We need to take into account two additional issues. The first is the challenge of climate change, which we have debated on numerous occasions and for which the European Union has very specific targets. The second issue is the impact of the crisis and the resulting borrowing on government budgets, budgets at the national level, as this is placing even more pressure on public finances.
These are not, however, the only issues that should be considered. We also have to consider – as you have in practically all your speeches – what the deadline should be for removing public aid for coal mining under non-competitive conditions.
There is a debate around this issue, and we have listened to the different positions in the debate in Parliament. There is also a debate in the Council, and we are going to wait for the Council meeting at the beginning of December to see what the Council’s position is. There has certainly been a debate in the Commission, and there will be another.
As you know – as Mr Langen mentioned earlier – this is a Council regulation. Parliament’s opinion is very important, but the treaty states that, on matters of public aid, the regulation is a Council regulation. The Council will establish its position. Currently – at the last meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee – it has a majority position in favour of a deadline for the permanent removal of this aid in 2018, which is longer than the Commission’s proposal. Our rules state, however, that unless the Council decides unanimously, the Commission proposal cannot be legally modified.
Whatever decision the Council reaches, it is practically certain that it will not be unanimous, but the Commission is going to listen very carefully to the Council’s position, just as it is listening very carefully to Parliament’s arguments and will listen to Parliament’s position when it votes. The Commission will adopt its final position based on its analysis of the respective positions of the Council, according to its prerogatives established in the treaty, and also of Parliament, and based on the debate on the Rapkay report."@en1
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