Brussels, 17/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - "In the energy sector, the Belgian Presidency will focus its efforts on measures that will enable the EU to fulfil undertakings made in Kyoto regarding climate change" Olivier Deleuze, Belgian Minister of State for Energy and the President of the Energy Council since the beginning of July, told the press on Monday. Mr. Deleuze also unambiguously came down in favour of the liberalisation of the gas and electricity markets, as long as the social and environmental aspects of the Commission's proposal were not "diluted".
"The Belgian Presidency will defend a stance combining a policy playing in favour of a qualitative opening up and increased market integration along with the development of environmental regulatory instruments", the Minister of State declared, stipulating that "these two aspects may progress simultaneously in the sense that they are not contradictory". Asked about the timetable recommended by the Commission for the liberalisation of the gas and electricity markets, Mr. Deleuze said that there would be no decision on dates under the Belgian Presidency: "dates will not be on the agenda due to the elections in France", he emphasised, considering that that was an "open secret". He then continued: "the aim of the Presidency is to arrive at a good text for negotiations", i.e., a text that is not sweetened. Belgium would like to initiate a genuine substantive debate on the questions of liberalisation at the Energy Council of 4 December, in view of achieving an initial consensus on a series of essential options, "rather of a qualitative nature".
Concerning energy measures more directly linked to the fight against climate change, Deleuze welcomed the lifting of the last obstacles to the adoption of the directive on the promotion of renewable energies and said that all would be done so that formal adoption could take place, without discussion, at the Agriculture Council of 23 July, adding that, were that not the case, it would only be for technical reasons. "Adoption of the directive would then occur in September", he stipulated.
The Belgian Presidency also intends striving for the Energy Council of 4 December reaching substantive conclusions concerning the Green Paper on energy supply in the EU. Regarding the degree of co-ordination of energy policies, referring to "the recent movements on the electricity market", the Belgian Minister of State considered that "if Member States do not come up with regulations, the operators will (…); and yet, it is preferable that it should be the States". Mr. Deleuze also spoke in favour of the abolition of State aid for certain sectors: "developing a European action plan for climate and developing a plan for coal is contradictory", he thought, also manifesting reluctance regarding subsidies for the nuclear sector.
Finally, the Belgian Presidency intends stepping up work on the recent draft directive relating to energy efficiency in buildings. Its goal is to reach a political agreement on the text at the 4 December Council, but for that it must have the opinion of the European Parliament on first reading. Belgium has also told the Commission that it attaches great importance to the latter's rapidly presenting the draft directive on minimum standards of electricity efficiency in electrical devices.