Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-09-12-Speech-3-442-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20120912.24.3-442-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, we know that we in the European Union are heavily dependent on energy imports. In the gas sector, import dependence on third countries has already exceeded 60% with a clear upward trend; in the oil sector, it is already over 80%. Of course, it is very important for us – for Europe – to ensure secure and stable energy supplies.
How is that being done today? At present, each European Union Member State concludes a bilateral agreement with a third-country supplier for these energy supplies. Unfortunately, these agreements are completely non-transparent. No one except the specific Member State really knows what provisions these agreements contain. There is also the possibility, of course, that European legislation is not being fully observed; in particular, it is possible that fixed energy-supply networks in the gas sector are impenetrable to competition. What does this mean for us? It means that European consumers may be suffering from this situation. Where there is no competition, the price will unfortunately be higher; there is also a lack of Europe-wide coordination, and therefore even a kind of ‘divide and rule’ policy is possible on the part of suppliers. Each Member State fends as it can, alone.
What is the proposed solution? In February 2011, the Council in its Council conclusions instructed – requested – the Commission to come forward with legislation, with a solution that could improve this situation. The Commission has done so, and that is the legislation that we are specifically discussing today.
What is the basic proposal for simplifying everything? There is a proposal to create a single information-exchange mechanism in which all Member States would provide the Commission with information on bilateral agreements. Not only would the Commission then be able to assess whether such agreements comply with European legislation and whether competition in terms of infrastructure is ensured, but a possibility for coordination would also arise, allowing Europe to start speaking with one voice in negotiations with these third-country energy suppliers.
So far in the committee, when we started assessing this draft legislation, we were strongly in agreement that the Commission’s proposed legislation should not only be supported, but even made stricter, assigning an even greater role to the Commission. More than 90% of the committee supported the final text – with this large mandate I headed for trilateral talks with the Council, in the so-called trialogue, and there, as all shadow rapporteurs who were also present know, we virtually ran into a wall. In essence, the Council, without saying so directly, did not want this legislation – in spite of the fact that by working with the Danish Presidency in three trialogues, in three rounds, we reached a compromise solution that would be acceptable to both Parliament and the Council, so that we could adopt this legislation at all.
What, then, is this solution? The solution is for the Commission to find the possibility of establishing the aforementioned information-exchange mechanism; for the Member States to submit to the Commission all existing and also future agreements for assessment; for a possibility to be created for determining whether the legislation is being observed; and for the unified information base that would help the European countries in negotiations with third-country suppliers to be established.
What is not included is a right for the Commission itself to get involved even before the signing of an agreement in order to eliminate problems in the initial version. The Council simply did not accept that. However, I urge you to support this compromise; by supporting this legislation, we shall be taking a step towards a unified European energy policy and toward securing the interests of our consumers.
Thank you."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples