Brussels, 16/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - After France failed to respond within the two-month deadline to its letter of 22 March 2004 requesting Paris to state the measures taken to comply with Directive 2003/96/EC amending the Community taxation framework for energy products and electricity, the Commission has decided to deliver a reasoned opinion to France for failing to submit transposition measures on the Directive. Council Directive 2003/96/EC extends the minimum rate scheme, until then restricted to mineral oils, to all energy products, particularly coal, natural gas and electricity. It reduces competition distortions which, by virtue of the application of differing taxation rates, currently exist between Member States. It also strengthens measures on more efficient energy use with a view to reducing dependency on imported energy and limiting carbon dioxide emissions. The deadline for compliance with this Directive was 31 December 2003.
The Commission has also decided to take Germany to the Court of Justice for failing to transpose the same Directive. Following the action taken by the Commission, Berlin immediately undertook to submit its national transposition measures on the Directive by 2005 at the latest. However, after the Commission's reasoned opinion of 13 July 2005, Germany let it be known that the measures announced previously would not come into force before next May. The Commission decided, therefore, to begin the next stage of the infringement procedure by going to court.