Strasbourg, 15/06/2001 (Agence Europe) - During the plenary session in Strasbourg, the European Parliament took a stance with a slim majority in favour of keeping nuclear power. With the adoption, on Thursday, of a resolution proposed by Rolf Linkohr (PES, Germany) on oil supplies in the EU, MEPs approved by 214 in favour, 200 against and 13 abstentions, a paragraph stipulating that the EP considers that, in the safety conditions currently reigning in modern power plants, nuclear energy may contribute to the partial replacement of oil consumption, on condition that a solution be found to the problem of waste disposal.
With respect to the information set out in the Commission communication on oil supplies in the EU (see EUROPE of 5 October 2000, p.8), MEPs stress that global oil consumption is expected to reach 115 million barrels per day until 2020. After that date, the EU should depend at 85% on oil imports. They therefore encourage the Commission and the Council to pursue dialogue with producer countries and to elaborate long term strategies with "the regions of the Persian Gulf, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus and West Africa".
Calling on the EU to deploy every possible effort to find oil substitute products, the MEPs are also considering renewable energy sources and biofuels as alternatives to oil and oil-derived products. Bearing in mind the potential of the candidate countries, they invited the Commission, to present a proposal aimed at promoting the development of consumption and production of biofuels. They hope the Commission and the Member States will establish transit charges offering renewable energies development possibilities.
At the taxation level, the EP urges the Council to take a decision on the draft directive on taxation of energy products, blocked since 1997 (224 votes for and 173 against). On the other hand, the EP rejected a paragraph that would have called for the suppression of the different taxes imposed on transport companies in Europe (227 against, 183 for and 24 abstentions).
Finally, the EP calls on the Commission to closely follow and to accelerate the process of liberalisation of the gas and electricity markets and to stimulate competition (246 votes in favour, 164 against and 6 abstentions).