Brussels, 19/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - "The Member States must resist the temptation to resort to the fiscal instrument" to answer the concerns of European hauliers in the face on rising fuel costs, announced, this Tuesday, the European Commissioner for Energy and Transport, Loyola de Palacio, before the European Parliament's Industry and Energy Committee.
The Commissioner intends defending this position during the Transports Council that will take place this Wednesday afternoon in Luxembourg (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.8). "The Commission consider that the choice of lowering taxes in several countries will not go in the right direction and that it is even contradictory with the previous positions of the EU, when we ask the Commission for measures to limit congestion of traffic and to promote less polluting methods of transport", announced before the press Gilles Gantelet, spokesperson of Mrs de Palacio.
Mrs de Palacio announced to the parliamentarians that the Commission sent letters to the countries which intend granting fiscal aid to their hauliers, France, Italy and the Netherlands to ask them for details on the aid schemes, "as we have serious doubts" on their compatibility with Community rules on State aid to road hauliers, she announced.
Drawing from the main elements of the information note on the development of fuel prices and the European strategy [presented at the start of September to the Commission (see EUROPE of 7 September, p.5 and EUROPE/Documents N°2205), Commissioner de Palacio insisted before the parliamentarians for the EU to concentrate on a policy guaranteeing "sufficient energy independence", while developing the dialogue with the producer countries, OPEC and Russia, so as to bring prices to a reasonable level". "We must send a clear and firm message to the OPEC countries for them to take the necessary measures to bring prices down to a reasonable level". The largest net importer of oil, "the EU has the economic means to be heard" she announced while calling on the EU to "talk with a single voice".