Motion for a resolution - B8-0136/2018Motion for a resolution
B8-0136/2018

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the Commission delegated regulation of 23 November 2017 amending Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the Union list of projects of common interest

8.3.2018 - (2017/2990(DEA))

pursuant to Rule 105(3) of the Rules of Procedure

Michèle Rivasi, Philippe Lamberts, Ska Keller on behalf of the Verts/ALE
Xabier Benito Ziluaga, Dario Tamburrano, Edouard Martin, Carolina Punset, Isabella Adinolfi, Laura Agea, Daniela Aiuto, Marina Albiol Guzmán, Tiziana Beghin, Fabio Massimo Castaldo, Ignazio Corrao, Rosa D’Amato, Eleonora Evi, Cornelia Ernst, Laura Ferrara, Luke Ming Flanagan, Tania González Peñas, Rina Ronja Kari, Paloma López Bermejo, Curzio Maltese, Marisa Matias, Younous Omarjee, Piernicola Pedicini, Lola Sánchez Caldentey, Maria Lidia Senra Rodríguez, Martin Schirdewan, Helmut Scholz, Barbara Spinelli, Estefanía Torres Martínez, Miguel Urbán Crespo, Marco Valli, Marco Zullo

B8‑0136/2018

European Parliament resolution on the Commission delegated regulation of 23 November 2017 amending Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the Union list of projects of common interest

(2017/2990(DEA))

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission delegated regulation (C(2017)07834) (‘the amending regulation’),

–  having regard to Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure and repealing Decision No 1364/2006/EC and amending Regulations (EC) No 713/2009, (EC) No 714/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009[1], and in particular Articles 3(4), 9(2) and 64(5) thereof,

–  having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing the Connecting Europe Facility, amending Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 680/2007 and (EC) No 67/2010[2],

–  having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/89 of 18 November 2015 amending Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the Union list of projects of common interest[3],

–  having regard to Council Decision (EU) 2016/1841 of 5 October 2016 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change[4],

–  having regard to its resolution of 4 October 2017 on the 2017 UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany (COP23)[5],

–  having regard to Rule 105(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 and the amending delegated regulation are meant to ‘support the completion of the Union internal energy market while encouraging the rational production, transportation, distribution and use of energy resources, to reduce the isolation of less-favoured and island regions, to secure and diversify the Union’s energy supplies, sources and routes, including through cooperation with third countries, and to contribute to sustainable development and protection of the environment’;

B.  whereas it recognises the efforts made by the Commission to keep in the Union list of projects of common interest a stable number of electricity projects, which are necessary to effectively pave the way for the decarbonisation of the European energy system;

C.  whereas the counting methodology and bundling of projects applied by the Commission for identifying gas projects is inconsistent and results in a seemingly reduced number of projects, while in reality their number is much higher;

D.  whereas it is concerned about the large number of fossil fuel projects prioritised in the list and urges the Commission to count the projects in order to allow a sensible and transparent comparison between the two lists;

E.  whereas it is crucial to reach our goals of security of supply and energy independence, but overestimates, overcapacity and idle installations will only lead to higher tariffs, undermining the competitiveness of our industries and raising energy bills for our families;

F.  whereas it encourages the Commission to make the process of identifying and selecting Projects of Common Interest as transparent as possible, based on independent data and enabling Parliament to monitor the process at an earlier stage;

G.  whereas the Paris Agreement commits to ‘holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels’;

H.  whereas the Paris Agreement was ratified by the European Union in 2016;

I.  whereas greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels are the largest contributor to climate change;

J.  whereas the promotion of new fossil fuel infrastructure as part of the EU’s energy policies undermines the fulfilment of the Paris Agreement commitments;

K.  whereas it is questionable whether the majority of gas projects listed in the Commission delegated regulation (C(2017)07834) are compatible with the commitments made under the Paris Agreement;

L.  whereas new gas infrastructure is designed to last at least 40 to 50 years and in some cases even longer;

M.  whereas the construction of new gas infrastructure risks creating a new fossil fuel lock-in that is incompatible with the commitments made under the Paris Agreement;

1.  Objects to the Commission delegated regulation;

2.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and to notify it that the delegated regulation cannot enter into force;

3.  Calls on the Commission to bring forward a new delegated act that avoids the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure with potential lock-in consequences and that is fully compatible with the commitments made under the Paris Agreement; further calls on the Commission to present the list of projects of common interest in a manner which is consistent and transparent to the co-legislators, in particular the European Parliament;

4.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

Last updated: 8 March 2018
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