European Commission (EC) legislators are rethinking plans for a directive setting out a single EC gas market and hope to have a new draft to present to the European parliament next year.
Earlier this year, EC members failed to reach a consensus on the proposed gas directive, because of a wide disparity in gas markets and priorities among member states.
Gas directive status
At the Euro Energy '96 conference in London late last month, Leonidas Antonakopoulos, EC chef de cabinet, said that under the current Irish presidency, the EC has issued a compromise text for a revised gas directive.
He said that while the EC's electricity directive is now before Europe's Parliament for a second reading, the gas sector particularly failed to agree on transparency requirements.
"Transparency regulations that work for electricity were found not to be good for gas," said Antonakopoulos. "The need to reveal certain figures would have brought a competitive disadvantage to some companies. Also, members were at odds over take-or-pay contracts."
Antonakopoulos said EC gas legislators have learned from the success of the Auto/Oil program, under which the EC cooperated with car manufacturers and oil industry in drafting tighter air pollution measures (OGJ, Nov. 20, 1995, p. 41).
"The Auto/Oil program benefited from the good idea of incorporating governmental and company approaches at an early stage," said Antonakopoulos. "This experience will be important when discussing further phases of the European energy debate, particularly the gas directive.
"There is now increasing momentum for a new draft gas directive, and we hope for an agreement to be passed through the European Council in 1997."
Antonakopoulos said EC plans for a carbon dioxide tax to encourage reduced emissions had also become deadlocked at the EC's council of ministers.
A new proposal is being considered, said Antonakopoulos, which would lead to the tax plan being replaced by promotion of reduced emissions through improved energy efficiency and new environmental technologies.
What's ahead
Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, U.K.'s Minister of State for Energy, told the conference EC ministers would gather next on Dec. 3 in Brussels, with the gas directive one item on the agenda. "There is unlikely to be any agreement on gas at this meeting," said Fraser, "but we hope for a directive agreement under the Dutch presidency of the EC next year.
"In the meantime, U.K. is promoting the view that gas supply security is encouraged by competition. Competition has resulted in gas pipelines being built from Algeria and Norway and from the U.K. to bring gas to (continental) Europe.
"Britain hopes to make progress soon on the Frigg gas treaty with the Norwegians, where talks have been stalled for some time. Meanwhile, money is beginning to flow for EC studies into the large infrastructure required to build trans-European energy networks."
Peter Scholten, deputy director general of energy in the Netherlands, told the conference the Dutch government is looking forward to its turn for the EC presidency: "Priority will be given to the gas directive and development of renewable energy sources."
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