Brussels, 16/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European oil refining industry, which is affected by EU legislation on climate protection, is calling for an impact assessment.
Representatives of the European oil refining sector put their heads above the parapet on Tuesday 15 May, at a roundtable held by the European executive to discuss the problems faced by the sector, to complain about the negative impact on its activities of Community legislation on the climate.
Although the Commission has declined to publish the results of this roundtable, Commissioner Günther Oettinger has acknowledged the need to guarantee the competitiveness of a sector which he described as "essential" within the industrial fabric of the EU, and has called another roundtable for November of this year, reports the European oil industry association Europia, in a press release. The representatives of 21 Member States, who also attended the meeting, "widely acknowledged the difficult situation" for the refining industry.
The attendees, who included representatives of the sector and MEPs, did not plead in favour of specific aid being granted, but called for an impact assessment of the European legislative texts on climate protection. "Existing EU legislation such as ETS, IED and REACH has a cumulative impact which substantially increases the operating costs and capital costs of refining in Europe (…). Many non-EU refiners do not have the burden of legislative costs", stressed the secretary general of Europia, Isabelle Muller. The representatives of the sector called into question the wishes of Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard to act to artificially increase the price per tonne of CO2 within the emissions trading system (ETS), and the legislation on the quality of fuels which, they argue, discourages the use of heavy fuels in Europe and limits the choice of raw fuels for refinery.
There are 92 refineries in the EU, Switzerland and Norway, but some have ceased their activities, such as the four owned by the Swiss group Petroplus, regarding which union members demonstrated in front of the Commission's headquarters. (EH/transl.fl)