Brussels, 13/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - The third meeting of the Trialogue on the liberalisation of the electricity and gas markets did not achieve the success that had been hoped for. The three European institutions meeting on Monday in Strasbourg were unable to agree on the management of the dismantlement funds. Although Parliament wants the directive to impose a form of financial management that is separate from the funds, the Council would prefer to add an inter-institutional declaration underlining that Member States oversee that funds are used sensibly. Claude Turmes the Green MEP from Luxembourg and one of the Parliament rapporteurs on these issues aid that such a declaration had no "binding value to it". In an effort to reach a compromise, Parliament submitted four proposals to the Council. The latter is expected to submit its position on Monday at the latest, on the eve before the three rapporteurs' meeting on the case.
Parliament believes that non-separated management of dismantlement funds would allow a company to both manage funds and operations tied to it, which lacks transparency and could distort competition. Mr Turmes explained that, "some countries, like France and Germany would allow their operators to use their dismantlement funds to invest in the energy markets, so that they could reduce prices or buy out companies". This is why Parliament is proposing: 1) that the use of dismantlement funds for activities on the energy markets is banned under the directive; 2) that a reference to a political declaration is included in the directive to give it more power; 3) introduce amendments to the directive ensuring separate accounts so that dismantlement funds and other sources of revenue can be distinguished; 4) that the European Commission annual report on the internal market clearly refers to the impact of using these funds on the internal market.
Although the Trialogue agreed on other points that were discussed, notably labelling (compelling companies to provide detailed information on the environmental impact of the different sources of energy), Claude Turmes is pessimistic about the outcome of negotiations. "The Council is not prepared to budge on the issue of dismantlement funds and the European Commission is hiding behind the Euratom treaty", he declared.