REPORT on the share of renewable energy in the EU and proposals for concrete actions

6.7.2005 - (2004/2153(INI))

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
Rapporteur: Claude Turmes

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on the share of renewable energy in the EU and proposals for concrete actions

(2004/2153(INI))

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the communication from the Commission on the share of renewable energy in the EU (COM(2004)0366),

–   having regard to Directive 2001/77/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 27 September 2001 on the promotion of electricity produced from renewable energy sources in the internal electricity market[1],

–   having regard to Directive 2003/30/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 8 May 2003 on the promotion of the use of biofuels or other renewable fuels for transport[2] ,

–   having regard to ‘Energy for the future: Renewable sources of energy – White Paper for a Community strategy and action plan’ (COM(1997)0599),

–   having regard to its resolution of 1 April 2004 on the International Conference for Renewable Energies (Bonn, June 2004)[3],

–   having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and the opinions of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (A6‑0227/2005),

A. whereas global energy use will continue to grow rapidly,

B.  noting that the recent reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has introduced aid to encourage energy crops,

C. whereas it must be conveyed with greater emphasis to the Commission that environmental objectives must be achieved more than is currently the case throughout the whole Community,

1.  Welcomes the above-mentioned communication from the Commission and encourages the Commission to continue to develop an ambitious and, at the same time, realistic strategy in the area of renewable energies;

2.  Recognises the exceptional importance of renewable energies, along with energy efficiency and conservation, not only for surmounting health and environmental degradation and ensuring sustainable development which meets Europe’s climate objectives, but also for contributing to innovation and to regional as well as national development, trade opportunities and the creation of jobs in line with the Lisbon agenda;

3.  Stresses furthermore that renewable energies combined with energy conservation measures reduce Europe's dependence on energy imports and thus diminish the political and economic risks resulting from these imports;

21 renewable energies for the 21st century

4.  Recognises the potential from a wide diversity of more than 21 different renewable energy technologies which in principle cover not only all geographical areas but also all relevant energy uses;

5.  Recognises that renewable energies are the fastest growing sector of the energy industry in Europe and even worldwide, with a growth rate above 20% a year in wind and solar PV, and that the development of renewable energy technologies has created more than 300 000 jobs;

6.  Recognises that impressive price reductions have been achieved in the different renewable energy technologies, in some cases up to 50 % in 15 years, but notes that further price reductions must be achieved, which will require the provision of strong incentives;

7.  Expects the biomass action plan as announced, greater promotion of solar thermal power stations in the south of the European Union and a coordinated major project for North Sea wind power to promote the rapid expansion of these renewable energies;

8.  Welcomes the fact that the EU is a world leader in most renewable energy technologies as a result of the efforts in some Member States and calls on new EU-wide initiatives and directives;

9.  Recognises the potential of biomass, which must be harnessed through a systemic approach to the use and integrated maintenance of the territory;

25 % for 2020: pave the way for the EU as a world market leader for renewable energies

10. Stresses the importance of setting mandatory targets for 2020 to give a clear signal to market actors, like large scale energy companies and the financial community, as well as to national policy makers, that renewable energies are the future of energy in the EU and part of its environment and industrial strategy;

11. Calls on the Commission to continue to monitor closely compliance by the Member States with indicative national goals and to seek to draw up an EU medium-term renewable energy strategy for the period after 2010, in addition to a detailed assessment of progress in achieving the 2010 objectives, value for money offered to the final consumers (including the calculation of external costs) and, finally, progress made in improving energy efficiency;

12. Recalls its abovementioned resolution of 1 April 2004 where an overwhelming majority of the House called for a 20% target for renewable energies in overall energy consumption in the EU by 2020;

13. Points out that new studies, in particular where they take into account energy-efficiency scenarios for all sectors, show that, with better conditions for renewable energy and energy efficiency, a target of at least 25 % is feasible;

14. Therefore asks the Commission to develop demand-efficiency scenarios which will lead us to the overall climate change objective of peaking the global temperature at 2° C above pre-industrial level, as well as delivering a better basis for fixing long-term targets for renewable energies;

15. Notes that with a more systemic approach to energy policies that integrates and speeds up, inter alia through higher incentives, the large-scale potentials of energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energies, a share of 25% of the overall energy consumption of the EU could be provided by renewable energies by 2020;

16. Recognises the forest sector as an unexploited source that can play a vital role, not only in developing and expanding the biomass market but also in bringing the energy source closer to the consumer;

17. Notes that in order to have the necessary signals for such highly differentiated energy markets, like electricity, transport fuels and the heating and cooling sector, the EU target must be broken down into both sector and national targets, so that simpler and more economically-attractive conditions can be created for investment in research on, and use of, renewable energy; therefore asks the Commission to come up with mandatory targets for each of these three sectors;

18. Considers that incentives in the form of tax cuts are generally an effective way to promote renewable energies; encourages the Member States to use such instruments; encourages the Commission to abolish all obstacles to such action by the Member States;

Heating and cooling: a major market for low-temperature renewable energies

19. Notes that the heating and cooling of buildings accounts for roughly 40 % of all energy use in the EU and urges a systemic approach that will integrate best available technologies for reducing heat and cooling demand with low-density energy from low-temperature renewables or from co- or tri-generation units;

20. Welcomes the progress made in the energy design of new buildings, where the integration of solar architecture, insulation and renewable energies is leading to low-energy, passive-energy and even plus-energy houses - which produce more energy over a year than they consume;

21. Highlights the enormous productivity gains which could result from an enhanced integration of energy conservation and renewable energies into prefabricated building materials like roofs and facades;

22. Highlights the market potential of renewable energies like biomass and geothermal energy for the growing central district-heating and district-cooling sector by producing green electricity and using the low temperature "waste" energy to heat or cool buildings;

23. Highlights the potential offered by district heating and cooling networks, which as infrastructures make it possible to optimally use and combine a large spectrum of ‘fossil-fuel free’ energy inputs: surplus heat from electricity production, different forms of renewable heat (i.e. geothermal energy, heat/cold from deep-sea or lake water), as well as heat from waste incineration and/or from industrial processes;

24. Notes that investment in sustainable housing requires a higher initial investment while reducing the running costs of buildings; stresses the need for Energy Efficiency Services Companies (ESCOs) to bridge the investor-user gap and calls on the European institutions to use the proposed directive on energy end-use efficiency and energy services to create a stable market for this type of investment;

25. Asks the Commission to broaden the existing 'Buildings Directive'[4] to all commercial buildings of more than 250 m² with regard to total energy efficiency and the use of renewable energies, and to come forward with a proposal for a directive for renewable energies in heating and cooling;

26. Asks the Commission to work together with Member States to introduce by 2012, at the latest, minimum building standards for all private homes, based on passive energy (below 10 kW/m²) standards;

27. Asks the Commission and ECOFIN to take rapid and effective measures to eliminate environmentally harmful subsidies in the area of heating and cooling; asks the Member States to use effective incentives in the form of tax cuts to promote the use of renewable energies in the area of heating and cooling and asks the Commission to abolish all obstacles in this area;

Electricity: Fair market conditions for renewable electricity production

28. Recalls the target of 21% of renewable energies in the overall electricity mix of the EU set out in Directive 2001/77/EC;

29. Remembers that this target is a percentage of overall electricity consumption and asks all EU Institutions not to forget the enormous potential for reducing electricity consumption by active policies on electrical appliances and office equipment;

30. Notes that the Commission welcomes the fact that certain Member States, notably Germany and Spain, have introduced an adequate policy framework to fulfil their national targets and notes that other Governments are not forecast to meet the national targets that they committed to; urges the Commission to use the possibilities in the Directive 2001/77/EC to introduce binding national targets;

31. Asks the Commission to integrate in its 2005 report on Directive 2001/77/EC further provisions on the removal of all barriers (e.g. administrative, political) as well as on fair and free access to the grid and non-discriminatory tariffs, which currently prevent the development of renewable sources of electricity in several Member States;

32. Notes that part of the production of electricity from renewable technologies, mainly photovoltaic, is still very expensive; encourages the Commission and Member States to promote measures to reduce the cost, mainly through research and development, and to draft incentives in such a way that improvement of technology and reduction in costs will continue;

33. Notes that the Commission has identified the administrative barriers, as set out in Article 6(1) of Directive 2001/77/EC, in several Member States as high, and urges the Commission to take action against these Member States;

34. Notes that the Commission has also identified that unfair access to the grid blocks the further development of renewable electricity projects in several Member States; asks the Commission to monitor carefully the application of Article 7 of Directive 2001/77/EC and to take action against these Member States;

35. Notes that conditions on the electricity market are such that there is still no equal competition between electricity suppliers and distributors formerly structured along monopoly lines and small and medium-sized renewable energy providers, and calls on the Commission to take that fact into account, not least when assessing Directive 2001/77/EC;

36. Urges Member States to continue to develop national strategies and structures for the promotion of renewable energies with a view to reducing planning and licensing red tape, facilitating grid access and ensuring guarantees of origin, preserving network stability and reviewing environmentally harmful subsidies;

37. Calls on the Commission and the Council to allow for the ‘polluter pays’ principle and internalisation of external costs in respect of every energy resource;

38. Notes that wind energy development in a few European countries has been impressive with more than 34 600 MW installed at the end of 2004, thus outperforming all predictions, and regrets that the full potential of biomass electricity production has not developed as foreseen; welcomes in this respect the Commission's announcement of a biomass action plan;

39. Recalls that the EU electricity market is still suffering from a number of serious distortions, such as insufficient ownership unbundling requirements, ineffective wholesale markets, increased market concentration, large direct and indirect subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear power, no non-discriminatory access to storage power plants, non-segregated nuclear decommissioning funds and non-internalisation of external costs, and insists that the Commission tackle these issues in its reports on internal electricity and gas markets at the end of the year and put forward new legislative initiatives, to put an end to those huge market distortions which penalise renewable energy production;

40. Regrets that the EU has so far failed to provide the support needed for solar thermal power station technology to be introduced onto the market; calls on the Commission to help enable the great potential of this technology to be tapped on a larger scale;

41. Notes the huge off-shore wind potential of the North Sea and insists that through the TEN-E funds EU Institutions should contribute to efficient coordination between the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Irish Sea border countries to integrate these potentials into the European grid system at the lowest possible cost; notes that similar large-scale wind potential exists in southern Morocco, and urges the Commission to consider a strategic partnership with the Maghreb countries on renewable energies; 

42. Asks that in the longer term, a harmonised European incentive system be created which fulfils the following criteria: it must

(a) contribute to the achievement of both the current targets and more-ambitious future targets, taking into account an increased annual share of renewables for electricity, with the increase being at least as high as the average annual increase since adoption of Directive 2001/77/EC;
(b) be compatible with the principles of the internal electricity market;
(c) be part of a systemic approach towards the development of renewables which takes into account the characteristics of different sources of renewable energy, together with the different technologies, and geographical differences;
(d) promote the use of renewable energy sources in an effective way, and be simple and, at the same time, as efficient as possible, particularly in terms of cost;
(e) internalise the external costs of all energy sources;
(f) include sufficient transitional periods for national support systems in order to maintain investor confidence;

considers that, based on these criteria, uniform Community legislation on European feed-in systems could make sense in the long term, but that a quota or tendering model could also be taken into consideration provided that the current weaknesses of such models, which have come to light in a few Member States, can be eliminated;

Transport: Efficiency first, renewable fuels second

43. Identifies the transport sector as creating huge dependency on oil imports at highly volatile prices, causing significant health problems due to air pollution and being responsible for the fastest growing CO2 emissions;

44. Takes note that in the transport sector efficiency gains through structural measures like better urban and regional planning, modal shifts in goods and passenger transport and the gradual raising of efficiency performance standards for vehicles and airplanes are crucial and complementary to renewable fuel strategies;

45. Urges the Commission to use the analyses of the overall environmental impacts of fuels - the so-called 'well-to-wheel' energy chains - as developed by the Commission Joint Research Center in their CONCAWE study;

46. Welcomes the current 'Biofuels Directive'[5],but deplores the fact that it is mainly taxpayers’ money that provides incentives for biofuels;

47. Welcomes the considerable developments achieved by the European Hydrogen Technology Platform in the transport field and urges the Commission and the Member States to continue their support for such initiatives;

48. Asks the Commission to include in its biomass action plan a mandatory gradually raising obligation for fuel companies to mix biomass based fuels in their sales;

49. Stresses that ethanol for fuel will contribute to boosting agricultural areas in the EU and valorising agricultural raw materials; considers that in relation to recent reforms and cuts in financial support (CAP, sugar), promoting the use and production of ethanol for fuel could offer this sector a new outlet;

50. Calls on the Commission, in the light of the emerging technologies, to exploit the potential of bioenergy and biofuels in conjunction with sustainable agriculture and forestry and sustainable management of waste within the CAP and the EU waste strategy;

Biomass: The sleeping giant amongst renewable energies

51. Notes that the use of biomass delivers a lot of advantage over conventional energy sources, as well as over some other renewable energies, in particular, relatively low costs, less dependence on short-term weather changes, promotion of regional economic structures and provision of alternative income sources for farmers;

52. Regrets therefore that the enormous potential of biomass in the field of renewable energies has not been exploited in line with its technically potential at feasible cost; welcomes therefore the Commission's announcement that it will present a biomass action plan and encourages the Commission to draft an ambitious document which includes concrete, legally binding proposals;

53. Asks the Commission and the Member States to use the Structural and Cohesion Funds to promote the use of biomass;

54. Asks the Commission and Member States to use the enormous potential of the second pillar of the common agricultural policy (rural development) to promote the sustainable use of biomass;

55. Asks the Commission to include the eco-efficient use of biomass in its priorities for the specific programmes under the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development;

56. Urges Member States to ensure that national taxation policy does not hinder development of biomass production;

57. Encourages the Member States to examine their tax systems, abolish all unnecessary tax burdens for users of biomass and consider tax cuts as effective incentives;

58. Welcomes the initiative of the Commission to set up a Biomass Action Plan; however, as it is a complex and controversial issue, calls on the Commission to hold widespread public and stakeholder consultations in order to set up a balanced and ambitious working plan for the future;

59. Takes the view that steps to encourage greater use of biomass in the production of a renewable form of energy using sustainable production methods must not provide an excuse for the EU not to pursue research aimed at achieving greater energy efficiency (cutting down the energy used for fuel, heating, electricity, etc.), a potential means of lowering the financial burden of farmers;

60. Calls for the rules on coexistence and labelling that apply to the cultivation and use of GMOs in food production to apply also in the area of renewable energies;

61. Recognises the contribution made by the CAP to the production of renewable energies, via biomass and biofuels, and urges that their further development and use be encouraged; considers it indispensable to increase the possibility of the co-funding of investment schemes by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the other Structural Funds so as to ensure the balanced and rational development and use of renewable energy provided that the energy and environmental outcomes of this use prove positive and compatible with sustainable production methods;

62. Recognises the potential of renewable energy production to simultaneously and effectively diversify and secure farm income, create jobs, protect nature and produce clean energy; points out, however, that the security of food supply must continue to take precedence over energy production; considers, therefore, that measures are necessary to prevent food production being replaced by energy production in good agricultural locations and food imports into the EU becoming still more numerous;

63. Calls for the use in energy production of agricultural and forestry by-products, such as crops grown on marginal land, hedge clippings and forestry by-products (waste wood), to be promoted as a priority;

Innovation: The importance of better coordination between the European, national and local/regional levels

64. Insists on the fact that a coherent European renewable energy and energy efficiency strategy is only achievable if a better interaction between all relevant actors takes place; stresses particularly the importance of the local and regional level in this strategy;

65. Calls for a new Intelligent Energy for Europe program under the Financial Perspective 2007- 2013 with an allocation of at least EUR 200 million a year in order to boost networking around best practices and to stimulate 100% renewable communities;

66. Supports the Commission's view that the promotion of renewables should in future be a key element of European structural policy; and points out that this will open up new opportunities for the new Member States in particular to strengthen their small and medium-sized industries;

Research and development: A priority for renewable energy and energy efficiency

67. Notes that solar thermal electricity, marine renewables such as sea current, wave, tidal and osmosis energies are new potential areas for generating renewable electricity and that EU R&D should heavily invest in them;

68. Welcomes the role of the EU as the world leader in renewable energy technologies;

69. Notes that in the energy field all non-mature energy technologies need a certain amount of support in the first years of development and highlights the fact that the IEA notes that between 1974 and 2001 only 8,2% of total energy R&D funds of OECD countries were allocated to renewable energies;

70. Insists that in the upcoming 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development a minimum of EUR 300 million a year be dedicated to renewable energies and EUR 200 million a year to energy efficiency to compensate the historical bias in EU energy research programs;

71. Stresses that the 7th Framework Programme must include increased funding for renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency; stresses the need to bridge the gap between the demonstration, dissemination and marketing of renewable energy technologies and to focus on research into offshore windparks;

72. Insists that the main Community’s financial instruments - notably the Structural and Cohesion Funds, as well as the financial support made available through the Community’s international co-operation programmes, ENPI in particular, should be oriented towards large-scale investment in new and best performance renewable and energy-conservation technologies;

73. Calls on the EIB and the EBRD to set escalating targets for the share of renewable energy in their respective energy loans portfolio and to make the prevention of greenhouse gas emissions an indispensable criterion in the selection of projects to be supported;

74. Believes that technology platforms should be foreseen for solar electricity production, for wind power, for biomass and for integration of renewable energies into the building sector including renewables-based CHP/DHC;

75. Encourages the Member States to invest in education related to renewable energies to make sure that professional operators and the general public are better informed;

76. Takes the view that research is needed urgently, especially in the areas of forecasting and temporary storage of energy generated from volatile sources such as wind and solar power;

77. Calls for the existing exchange of information procedures to be extended and for transparency of databases to be improved in order to allow for more multilateral co-operation in environment research and planning;

Export Strategy, Developing Policy

78. Insists on the responsibility of the EU in assisting least and less developed countries and emerging economies in developing, promoting and financing adapted renewable technologies;

79. Invites the EU to continue to defend its position as world leader in this field and its commitments at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development and use its influence to further strengthen an efficient renewable energy deployment policy in the relevant international bodies;

80. Points to the importance of renewables in development cooperation and the Mediterranean Partnership;

81. Calls on the Commission to provide greater support for the use of solar thermal power station technology in the southern and eastern Mediterranean;

82. Notes that there is a huge potential for cooperation with North African countries and the Mediterranean region to harvest solar, geothermal and wind energy, for the further development of these regions as well as the export of technology from and import of electricity into the EU market;

83. Calls upon the EU to help foster the use of renewable energies in developing countries in the interests of poverty alleviation, conflict prevention and sustainable development;

84. Calls on the Commission and Council to treat the promotion of a sustainable energy supply as a priority in development aid and especially in poverty reduction strategies, and to urge leading financing institutions such as the EIB, the EBRD, the World Bank, and national export credit agencies to assign priority to investment in renewables and energy efficiency so as to encourage and facilitate development in that direction;

85. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.

• [1]  OJ L 283, 27.10.2001, p. 33
• [2]  OJ L 123, 17. 5. 2003, p. 42.
• [3]  OJ C 103 E, 29.4.2004, p. 838.
• [4]  Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 on the energy performance of buildings (OJ L 1, 4.01.2003, p. 65).
• [5]  Directive 2003/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 May 2003 on the promotion of the use of biofuels or other renewable fuels for transport (OJl L 123 , 17.05.2003, p. 42).

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The renewable century:

21 renewable technologies for the XXI century

This own initiative report of the Parliament follows a communication from the EU Commission (1) presented prior to the Bonn world renewable energies conference in 2004. This initiative report gives a general strategic overview on where renewable policies stand in Europe.

The XXI century will be the renewable energies - renewables - century. RenewableS will play an ever-increasing role in the next decades. Their advantages for reducing environmental and health impacts for society, their contribution to reduce the dependency on and conflicts for highly volatile oil without creating new problems like nuclear waste or nuclear proliferation and the job creation (2) and local economic added value potential are recognised; however, what is often forgotten is the diversity of their use (3).

RenewableS have the potential to cover over 80% of all energy needs at the end of this century (4). How quick this will happen is depending on the right mix of policy instruments efficiently applied at the relevant levels, EU, national, regional and local.

It will also heavily depend on our ability to move form supply orientated and single technology dominated energy discussions to a systemic approach to energy policies based on three pillars:

- energy intelligence: supply side (renewable) energies should always be part of a policy mix in which demand side (energy conservation and energy efficiency) measures play an important role.

- appropriate energy density: Low temperature uses like heating and cooling should always be supplied by low density energies like the "waste" energy from electricity production (co- or tri-generation) or low temperature renewable like solar thermal collectors. Using noble energies like electricity or gas just to heat or cool houses is unsustainable.

- as local as possible: energy production should always be as close as possible to the place of energy use: this reduces not only transport losses and enhances the security of supply but strengthens also local and regional economies.

Green buildings: a basis for a sustainable energy system

Low temperature energy uses account in the EU to at least 40% of overall energy use. A combination of low density renewableS, best practices in energy conservation and the development of co- or trigenerated heating and cooling networks based on biomass or high temperature geothermal could bring high shares of renewables to the building sectors energy needs, reduce EU's oil dependency, unnecessary electricity consumption and diminish gas use in buildings thus freeing up gas for the electricity market.

i) Every new building a potential renewable energy power generator

Near Freiburg in Germany houses that are producing more energy (5) over a year's time than they use have been built. The standards for new buildings have been reduced over the last 20 years from above 150 W/m2 to 10 W/m2 (passive energy standards) (6). Individual renewable energy based heating (7) based on biomass are available.

The development of industrial scale solutions like prefabricated roof or facade elements combining high insulation standards with integrated solar thermal or PV elements could speed up such practice while raising the productivity in the building industry and cut costs.

The Commission should work with EU governments to progressively upgrade building standards and create a technology platform to integrate PV and other renewables in building components.

ii) Greening the existing EU building stock: a CO2 reduction and a job gold mine

The renovation of the German Bundestag (8) - a Norman Forster combination of energy conservation with an oil rape seed fuelled co-generation shows that modern architecture and renewable energy go together.

A big opportunity ahead for EU’s climate policy lies in the existing building stock. New studies from EU building industries (9) show that a 20% cut in emissions from this sector is possible while creating jobs. Parallel to reduction in demand, new biomass based tri-generation - combining electricity production with the use of the waste heat (10a) from this production to heat or cooling - has a large commercial potential. In Eastern Europe most big cities already have large-scale district heating systems (10b), but many need to be modernized and to switch form coal to biomass.

Furthermore, the ongoing miniaturisation of engines combined with the development of software for intelligent grid systems will also enhance the opportunities for CHP schemes for smaller buildings and be the first potential market for green hydrogen based fuel cells (11).

Because reduced energy bills have to be pre-financed by new invest, a European Investment Bank global loan which allows local and regional financial institutes to offer cheaper credits and the development of an EU market for Energy Saving Companies (ESCOs) are the solutions.

iii) Solar heating ... and cooling: the challenge ahead

Greece and Austria show the enormous commercial potential for solar thermal (12). The most effective solar thermal collectors are today able to generate enough heat to be converted in cooling energy (13).

Replacing electricity powered cooling by a combination of climate zone adapted architecture and solar cooling is one of the big EU energy challenges.

Additional policy measures needed at EU Level for the building sector should focus on a new directive for renewables in the heating and cooling sector, strengthening and broadening of the existing EU building directive.

Green electricity: Aiming for a European wide 100% renewable electricity system

The directive for renewables in the field of electricity foresees a growth from 15% in 2000 to more than 20% in 2010.

The EU is leading the world. Renewables are today the fastest growing source for electricity in the EU with growth rates higher than 20% for both wind and solar (14). The cost of renewable energy is falling rapidly (15).

The technical potential for renewables is large. Biomass, wind and geothermal will be widely deployed in the next 10 to 15 years, solar PV but also solar thermal electricity and marine renewables like energy from sea currents, energy form tidal, energy from waves are developing rapidly (16).

High shares of renewables in the electricity field is less a technological than a political problem. Therefore we will concentrate here on the necessary policy instruments:

1) The importance of demand side in electricity

The share of renewable electricity in the total electricity consumption will depend on future demand side policies. There are no cheaper CO2 reduction measures and no quicker measures to enhance Europe’s security of supply than sound demand side policies for electricity.

2) Put the market right. Stop environmentally harmful subsidies

Renewables electricity are today largely penalised by decades old unfair advantages given to electricity producing technologies like coal and nuclear.

R&D. IEA notes that between 1974 and 2001 only 8.2% of total energy R&D funds of OECD countries were allocated to renewable energies, whereas nuclear received more than 80%, a similar balance is seen in the past FP budgets.

Direct State aid. In the case of the coal sector over the last decade France, Germany, Spain and UK granted approximately €70 billion in aid and Poland €3.8 billion for 2003 alone (17).

Non-Internalisation of Externalities. In the current electricity market coal and nuclear have several advantages. First of all nearly all existing nuclear and coal power plants were financed during monopolistic times their capital costs have been broadly written off. Secondly, coal power production does not pay for their full CO2 costs. Thirdly, there is little transparency about the real and full costs of nuclear-based electricity production. The British government (and tax payers) recently assigned 6 Billion Euro to save the privatised nuclear operator British energy from bankruptcy and 70 Billion Euro to take care of UK's radioactive waste.

3) Fair access to the grid for renewables

Fair access to both distribution and transportation grid and fair pricing of balancing energy have been together with complex authorisation schemes identified by EU Commission as main hurdles to a quicker renewables penetration.

With the market success of wind a huge discussion has started on the "non reliability" of renewables. There are a lot of myths in this discussion:

- renewableS are more than wind. Large hydro, geothermal and biomass have a positive impact on grid stability

- in the next years gas will largely enter the power market with units close ranging from some kW in residential houses to mid size units of 350 to 500 MW, freeing up transport space in Eu grid system.Gas power stations are easily to be switched on and off thus enhancing the balancing capacities of the grid.

- recent detailed studies in Germany (18) show that even large scale development of onshore and off-shore wind does not put grid operators to unsolvable problems: in order to absorb the more than 80.000 MW new wind capacity Germany needs until 2015 to reinforce its existing 180.000 km of high voltage grid by 2 lines of 8 KM and three lines of 80 KM! More innovative solutions like connecting parts of German offshore in the North sea to cables with Norway to equalize fluctuating wind with hydro or to produce form part of the huge wind potential green hydrogen have not even been considered in these scenarios.

Political Priorities in the Power Market

Almost 50% of the today existing overall electricity production in the EU will have to be replaced because of end of their life cycle. This opens a window of opportunity to put the EU power policy right.

- A minimum 2020 target for green electricity consumption of at least 35% percent should be set to keep EUs leadership. In order to protect renewables against the existing market distortions, the actual support schemes should be allowed to continue until 2020.

- a biomass action plan (19) and a coordinated large scale North Sea wind (20) energy project to boost rapid extension of these renewables

- In the R&D FP7 program a maximum of money should be earmarked for renewables and energy efficiency (21). 300 million for renewables and 200 million for efficiency seem adequate to boost technical development of non-mature renewable technologies and to accelerate the cost cuts for those close to the markets.

- A third directive on electricity and gas market is needed with measures like full ownership unbundling, fair access to storage both, reduction of market power of the dominating companies and fully segregated decommissioning funds

Transport: Efficiency first, renewable fuels second, hydrogen third

Today's transport policies are causing a huge import dependency of highly volatile oil, create dramatic health problems and are responsible for fast rising CO₂ emissions. Without significant reforms in the very structure of transport schemes (system efficiency) and a substantial increase in efficiency a higher share of renewable fuels will be difficult to obtain.

1. Increase the efficiency of the system

Sustainability in transport policy depends on a coherent system approach. Efficiency gains are needed through structural measures like better urban and regional planning (22), shift in goods and persons transport from air and road to train, buses and the development of bicycle and pedestrian mobility in urban cities

2. Lighter cars and enhanced engine efficiency

Gradually raised efficiency performance standards for cars, busses, trains and airplanes are a second priority. Energy savings like weight reductions and a trend to smaller cars combined with an introduction of hybrid drive systems are short-term reduction possibilities that are cost effective.

Mandatory performance targets for cars like the newly introduced Californian model are important to give the car manufacturer a clear and stable framework for their future investments.

3. Well-to-Wheel energy chance as a basis for technology and fuel choices

Before engaging into a policy for alternative fuels, EU and governments should carefully analyses the total environmental impact of different fuel sources and conversion technologies. The well-to-wheel energy chain analysis - developed by the Commission Joint Research Center in their CONCAWE study (23) - must be undertaken for different fuels.

Notes & Web links:

(1) Web Link - COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - The share of renewable energy in the EU

http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/res/legislation/country_profiles/com_2004_366_en.pdf

(2) See Annex I - The proportion of labour force supporting the renewable energy sector in 2010

(3) See Annex II - 21 renewable energy - renewableS - technologies for the XXI century & Annex III - pictures of the different technologies

(4) Web link - Final report of the German Bundestag Enquete-Commission regarding 'Sustainable energy supply under conditions of globalisation and liberalisation' (Drucksache 14/9400 - 07.07.2002) Chapter 5 - scenario 5.1.2 http://www.bundestag.de/parlament/kommissionen/archiv/ener/schlussbericht/

; also check the web link the Greens / European Free Alliance - http://www.greens-efa.org

(5) Web link - See projects by the solar architecture office of Rolf Disch in Germany

http://www.rolfdisch.de/

(6) See Annex IV - Building trends in Upper Austria - Energy efficiency standards for housing

(7) Web link - Various information on energy efficient homes.

http://www.esv.or.at/esv/index.php?id=11&L=1

(8) Web link - Latest technologies and concepts in the German Bundestag and Reichstag allow to cut down energy consumption and emissions of CO2 in particular.

http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/info/099berlin/energy.html

(9) Web link - See studies by EURIMA - The European Association of Insulation Manufacturers

http://www.eurima.org/index_en.cfm

(10a) & (10b) Web link -Different associations are active in the field of cogeneration

http://www.cogen.org/Links/Associations.htm

http://www.euroheat.org/

(11) Web link - See information on green based hydrogen fuel cells at the website of the Greens / European Free Alliance - http://www.greens-efa.org

(12) See Annex V - The average installed solar thermal capacity in EU-15

(13) Web link - Information on Solar Cooling / Solar Assisted Air conditioning can be found on the website of the Research Task 25 of the IEA's Solar Heating and Cooling Programme: http://www.iea-shc-task25.org/. A collection of existing solar cooling installations can be found on the website of the SACE project: http://www.ocp.tudelft.nl/ev/res/sace.htm. This project was financed largely by the EC's 5th Framework Program.

(14) See Annex VI - Cumulative wind energy installed capacity & Annex VII - Cumulative photovoltaic installed capacity

(15) See Annex VIII - Falling cost of photovoltaic & Annex IX - Prices for different generation technologies

(16) See Annexes X & XI - exemplary detailed scenario for electricity

(17) Web link - Visit the European Commission website and see the information under 'State Aid' http://europa.eu.int/comm/competition/state_aid

(18) Web link - Research paper “Integration into the national grid of onshore and offshore wind energy generated in Germany” by the German energy agency

http://www.deutsche-energie-agentur.de/page/index.php?dena

(19) Web link - See the study on 'How to increase the use of biomass in an enlarged Europe' by Dr. Ludger Eltrop - available on the Greens/EFA website http://www.greens-efa.org

(20) Web link - Information about a coordinated large scale North Sea wind project available at the Greens/EFA website http://www.greens-efa.org

(21) Web link - Information on the 7 RFP available at the Greens/EFA website http://www.greens-efa.org

(22) See Annexes XII - Impact of urban densities on transport energy demand

(23) Web link - [CONCAWE 2004] Well-to-Wheels analysis of future automotive fuels and powertrains in the European context; EUCAR, CONCAWE, European Commission Joint Research Centre - IES with scientific support by L-B-Systemtechnik GmbH (Well-to-Tank) and Institut Français du Pétrole (Tank-to-Wheel), Januar 2004, http://ies.jrc.cec.eu.int/Download/eh/31

- ANNEX I -

Proportion of labour force supporting renewable energy sector in 2010

Source: EC Mitre study, (http://mitre.energyprojects.net/)

- ANNEX II -

21 'RenewableS' renewable energy technologies

for the 21st century

Electricity production

1.  Hydro power

2.  Biomass (solid, gas, liquid)

3.  Wind

4.  Geothermal (High temperature)

5.  Solar photovoltaic (PVs)

6.  Solar thermal electricity

7.  Energy from waves

8.  Energy from sea currents (tidal energy)

9.  Energy from osmoses (difference of pressure between river and salt water)

10.  Upwind power stations (power plants which play on the fact that warm air is lighter than cold air and creates a flow of air from the soil to the sky)

Heating and cooling

11.  Passive solar architecture

12.  Surplus low temperature energy from co- or trigeneration plants (based on biomass or geothermal)

13.  Solar collectors for heating, cooling and drying (industrial use)

14.  Geothermal (low temperature)

15.  Wood pellets / wood chips

16.  Dried and pressed biomass from energy crops

Fuel production

17.  Plant oil

18.  Biodiesel RME

19.  Ethanol

20.  Synthetic fuels from biomass

Hydrogen

21.  Hydrogen from renewable energy sources

- ANNEX III -

Pictures of different technologies

http://www.greens-efa.org 

- ANNEX IV -

Building trends in Upper Austria

Source: O.Ö. Energiesparverband (http://www.esv.or.at)

ANNEX V

The average installed solar thermal capacity per capita in the EU-15

Collector area in operation
kWth/1.000 capita
GR	184
AT	166
DE	42
DK	39
CH	31
SE	14
NL	12
PT	11
ES	6
IT	5
FR	3
BE	2
UK	2
FI	1
IE	1

The average installed solar thermal capacity per capita in EU-15 is 21,7 kWth/1000 capita (End of 2003)

Unfortunately - because of complete lack of data - Luxembourg is not included; on the other hand the diagram shows a column for Switzerland;

Source: ESTIF - European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (http://www.estif.org)

- ANNEX VI -

Cumulative wind energy installed capacity (MW)

Source: European Wind Energy Association (http://www.ewea.org/)

- ANNEX VII -

Cumulative photovoltaic installed capacity (MWp)

Source: EUREC - European Renewable Energy Centres Agency (http://www.eurec.be/)

- ANNEX VIII -

The falling cost of PV as Shipments increase

- ANNEX IX -

Prices for Different Generation Technologies

Source: EREC, 2005 - European Renewable Energy Council

(http://www.erec-renewables.org/)

- ANNEX X -

Exemplary detailed scenario for electricity

– Advanced International Policy (AIP) scenario -

Source: EREC, 2005 - European Renewable Energy Council

(http://www.erec-renewables.org/publications/scenario_2040.htm)

- ANNEX XI -

Exemplary detailed scenario for electricity

– Advanced International Policy (AIP) scenario -

Source: EREC, 2005 - European Renewable Energy Council

(http://www.erec-renewables.org/publications/scenario_2040.htm)

- ANNEX XII -

Impact of urban densities on transport energy demand

Source: Prof. Dr. Hermann Knoflacher - Institut für Verkehrsplanung und Verkehrstechnik, Technische Universität Wien

OPINION of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (29.4.2005)

for the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

on the share of renewable energy in the EU and proposals for concrete actions
(2004/2153(INI)

Draftsman: Dimitrios Papadimoulis

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety calls on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

1.  Welcomes the Commission Communication which demands renewed and sustained national policies to secure the achievement of a 12% share of renewable energy in overall energy consumption in the EU15and of a 21% share of electricity from renewable energy in the EU25 in 2010; deplores the fact that the trends set out therein lead to the conclusion that the 2010 target will not be achieved and emphasises the need for more political will;

2.  Underlines that the development of renewable energy will contribute to a reduction of greenhouse gases, improve air quality, enhance energy security, limit import dependency and foster sustainable development at local, regional, national and European level; stresses that it will also be a cornerstone of the future competitiveness of the EU;

3.   Considers that renewable energies are a critical element for achieving the Lisbon/Gothenburg policy goals and the EU objectives on sustainable employment, notably in rural areas, technological development, international competitiveness and exports;

4.   Highlights the fact that the lack of progress so far is due not to insufficient availability of renewable resources in the Community but to the lack of action and political will shown by certain Member States; therefore calls on the Commission to take stronger action and more specifically to

·    insist on a minimum 20% target for gross inland energy consumption for 2020, as already stated by the European Parliament in the run-up to the Bonn conference in June 2004, and to make it binding in order to secure investments and give a positive message to this sector,

·    specify the targets for electricity, heat and biofuel production for 2020 to give a clear message to investors in specific sectors and to Member States,

·    introduce stricter monitoring of Member States' progress and take appropriate action, within the rights and obligations set out in the Treaty, where it is needed,

· speed up the process of preparing a Biomass Action Plan since it is necessary in order to reach the 12% target and, as stated in the Commission Communication, the biomass sector is lagging behind,

· prepare a study on best practices in the field of district heating and of grid management in order to solve the problems that have emerged when trying to connect energy from renewable sources (especially wind and solar) into the grid;

5.   Regrets that the Commission in its Communication has not taken into account opinions of different stakeholders, for instance NGOs, industry associations and independent scientific experts, when evaluating the progress Member States have made;

6.   Calls upon all Member States to implement existing EU legislation fully and to comply with their national targets; calls on the Commission to take infringement action where appropriate;

7.   Considers that renewable energy should be given increased public support and Community funding, while also acknowledging the role of the private sector, and calls for a transparent allocation of sufficient financial means for renewable energy in R&D programmes and budgets; calls on the Commission to establish a dedicated budget for renewable energy sources in the 7th European Union Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration;

8.   Asks the Commission and the Member States to develop a coherent regulatory and policy framework that includes, inter alia, the removal of all administrative, legal and technical barriers that hamper the development of this type of energy, and that ensures fair competition between all energy sources; believes that external costs (loss of natural assets, medical costs for treatment of diseases caused by environmental pollution, and other external costs) should be reflected in the price of all types of energy and that Community and Member State subsidies for different energy sources should reflect their environmental benefits; also calls for a report by the Commission on subsidies and taxation imbalances with regard to different energy sources, including suggestions on how to tackle these problems;

9.   Urges Member States to continue to develop national strategies and structures for the promotion of renewable energies with a view to reducing planning and licensing red tape, facilitating grid access and ensuring guarantees of origin, preserving network stability and reviewing environmentally harmful subsidies;

10. Calls for the existing exchange of information procedures to be extended and for transparency of databases to be improved in order to allow for more multilateral co-operation in environment research and planning;

11. Calls for the necessary measures to be taken to increase public awareness of the potential, the benefits and the applicability of renewables as a means to achieve sustainable development;

12. Calls on the Commission to make proposals, by 2006 at the very latest, for mandatory medium and long term targets for renewable energy beyond 2010 on the basis of a thorough evaluation of the current progress towards the 2010 commitments as well as possible further climate change commitments;

13. Deplores the fact that other sectors of use of renewable energy sources such as heating and cooling are not yet covered by specific legislative instruments; calls on the Commission and the Member States to give further attention to the development of heating and cooling from renewable sources and of district heating, as it is imperative for exploiting geothermal energy and energy from combined heat and power production plants, by assessing their potential and identifying specific barriers and asks the Commission to bring forward legislative proposals;

14. Calls on the Commission, in the light of the emerging technologies, to exploit the potential of bioenergy and biofuels in conjunction with sustainable agriculture and forestry and sustainable management of waste, within the CAP and the EU waste strategy;

15. Considers it highly appropriate for the Commission to put forward a plan for the supply of biomass to better coordinate the different policies in the fields of energy, waste, industry, forestry and agriculture; hopes that the results of the assessment of the technical specifications for blending bioethanol with conventional fuels are satisfactory and that it will be possible to modify them;

16. Invites the EU to continue to defend its global leading role and commitments at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development and use its influence to further strengthen an efficient renewable energy deployment policy in relevant international bodies;

17. Calls upon the EU to help foster the use of renewable energies in developing countries in the interests of poverty alleviation, conflict prevention and sustainable development.

18. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to prepare action plans including adequate financing measures for those technologies whose current contribution to achieving the targets is insufficient, in particular geothermal and biomass plans.

PROCEDURE

Title	The share of renewable energy in the EU and proposals for concrete actions
Procedure number	2004/2153(INI)
Committee responsible	ITRE
Committee asked for its opinion   Date announced in plenary	ENVI 28.10.2004
Enhanced cooperation	No
Drafts(wo)man   Date appointed	Dimitrios Papadimoulis 21.9.2004
Discussed in committee	7.3.2005
Date suggestions adopted	25.4.2005
Result of final vote	for: against: abstentions:		47 0 1
Members present for the final vote	Adamos Adamou, Georgs Andrejevs, Liam Aylward, Johannes Blokland, John Bowis, Frederika Brepoels, Chris Davies, Avril Doyle, Mojca Drčar Murko, Edite Estrela, Anne Ferreira, Norbert Glante, Françoise Grossetête, Cristina Gutiérrez-Cortines, Satu Hassi, Gyula Hegyi, Mary Honeyball, Marie Anne Isler Béguin, Dan Jørgensen, Christa Klaß, Holger Krahmer, Urszula Krupa, Aldis Kušķis, Marie-Noëlle Lienemann, Peter Liese, Jules Maaten, Linda McAvan, Marios Matsakis, Riitta Myller, Péter Olajos, Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Dagmar Roth-Behrendt, Guido Sacconi, Karin Scheele, Carl Schlyter, Richard Seeber, Kathy Sinnott, María Sornosa Martínez, Antonios Trakatellis, Evangelia Tzampazi, Thomas Ulmer, Anja Weisgerber, Åsa Westlund, Anders Wijkman
Substitutes present for the final vote	Margrete Auken, Erna Hennicot-Schoepges, Miroslav Mikolášik, Andres Tarand
Substitutes under Rule 178(2) present for the final vote

OPINION of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (21.4.2005)

for the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

on the share of renewable energy in the EU and proposals for concrete actions
(2004/2153(INI))

Draftswoman: Elisabeth Jeggle

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development calls on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

A.  whereas the Community is committed to the development, diversification and integration of renewable energy sources in order simultaneously to reduce its energy dependency and combat climate change,

B.  whereas significant differences in progress exist between Member States and between sectors,

C.  whereas global energy use will continue to grow rapidly,

D.  whereas the EU approved the Kyoto protocol and committed itself to reduce CO₂ emissions by 8 % in relation to 1990 levels,

E.  whereas, alongside the development of renewable energy, a significant improvement in energy efficiency is needed,

F.  whereas fossil resources are limited and the EU therefore remains dependent on energy imports,

G.  whereas sustainable development includes environmental, economic and social aspects,

H.  noting that the recent reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has introduced aid to encourage energy crops,

I.  whereas it must be conveyed with greater emphasis to the Commission that environmental objectives must be achieved more than is currently the case throughout the whole Community,

1.  Welcomes the Commission’s communication as a basis for examining progress towards the Union’s goals in renewable energy;

2.  Suggests that, where applicable, the Commission should work towards the removal of administrative and network-specific obstacles in the Member States concerned and the creation of attractive encouragement schemes;

3.  Welcomes the initiative of the Commission to set up a Biomass Action Plan; however, as it is a complex and controversial issue, calls on the Commission to hold widespread public and stakeholder consultation in order to set up a balanced and ambitious working plan for the future;

4.  Recognises the contribution made by the CAP to the production of renewable energy, via biomass and biofuels, and urges that their further development and use be encouraged; considers it indispensable to increase the possibility of the co-funding of investment schemes by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the other Structural Funds so as to ensure the balanced and rational development and use of renewable energy, provided the energy and environmental outcomes of this use prove positive and compatible with sustainable production methods;

5.  Recognises the potential of renewable energy production to simultaneously and effectively diversify and secure farm income, create jobs, protect nature and produce clean energy; points out, however, that the security of food supply must continue to take precedence over energy production; considers, therefore, that measures are necessary to prevent food production being replaced by energy production in good agricultural locations and food imports into the EU becoming still more numerous;

6.  Considers that producers should be supported so that they can obtain the appropriate technology by taking part in the relevant national and Community programmes;

7.  Urges the Commission to take new regulatory measures and increase the Union’s financial support with a view to encouraging research into renewable energy sources, innovation spreading, information sharing and energy economies;

8.  Urges Member States to ensure that national taxation policy does not hinder development of biomass production;

9.  Deplores that the EU is unlikely to meet its 12 % renewable energy consumption target in 2010, and therefore asks the Commission and the Member States to intensify their efforts to meet these targets as early as possible; measures should be taken by the Commission to enable the Member States to meet their responsibilities in this regard;

10.  Recognises the potential of a more coordinated policy on the sustainable use of biomass as a significant contributor to reaching the Kyoto, and even post-Kyoto, targets with particular regard to the carbon cycle, as one-third of the planned reduction in CO₂ emission could potentially be achieved by using renewable energies;

11.  Calls for the use in energy production of agricultural and forestry by-products, such as crops grown on marginal land, hedge clippings and forestry by-products (waste wood), to be promoted as a priority, in order virtually to exclude competition with essential food production;

12.  Takes the view that steps to encourage greater use of biomass in the production of a renewable form of energy using sustainable production methods must not be an excuse for the Union not to pursue research aimed at achieving greater energy efficiency (cutting down the energy used for fuel, heating, electricity, etc.), a potential means of lowering the financial burden of farmers;

13.  Recognises the potential of biomass for sustainable farming and asks the Commission to increase its support for research and development of possible sources and uses, so that economically and environmentally sustainable schemes can be more widely implemented as soon as possible;

14.  Urges the Commission to look at the link between biomass production and safe utilisation of sludge matter;

15.  Calls for the rules on coexistence and labelling that apply to the cultivation and use of GMOs in food production to apply also in the area of renewable energies;

16.  Recognises the potential of renewable energy as an important means to boost employment and create regional added value in rural areas, thus conforming to the Lisbon and Gothenburg Strategies and making an important contribution to the European agricultural model;

17.  Acknowledges the potential of using wind power in appropriate locations in terms of avoiding CO₂ emissions and diversifying agricultural income.

PROCEDURE

Title	The share of renewable energy in the EU and proposals for concrete actions
Procedure number	2004/2153(INI)
Committee responsible	ITRE
Committee asked for its opinion   Date announced in plenary	AGRI 28.10.2004
Enhanced cooperation	--
Draftsman	Elisabeth Jeggle
Date appointed	21.9.2004
Discussed in committee	14.3.2005	19.4.2005
Date suggestions adopted	19.4.2005
Result of final vote	for:		24
	against:		--
	abstentions:		--
Members present for the final vote	Filip Adwent, Peter Baco, Thijs Berman, Joseph Daul, Gintaras Didžiokas, Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf, Lutz Goepel, Bogdan Golik, María Esther Herranz García, Elisabeth Jeggle, María Isabel Salinas García, Agnes Schierhuber, Czesław Adam Siekierski, Marc Tarabella, Kyösti Tapio Virrankoski, Janusz Wojciechowski
Substitutes present for the final vote	Liam Aylward, María del Pilar Ayuso González, Ilda Figueiredo, Milan Horáček, Wiesław Stefan Kuc, Anne Laperrouze, Jan Mulder, Zdzisław Zbigniew Podkański
Substitutes under Rule 178(2) present for the final vote	--

PROCEDURE

Title

The share of renewable energy in the EU and proposals for concrete actions

Procedure number

2004/2153(INI)

Basis in Rules of Procedure

Rule 45

Committee responsible   Date authorisation announced in plenary

ITRE 28.10.2004

Committee(s) asked for opinion(s)   Date announced in plenary

ENVI 28.10.2004

AGRI 28.10.2004

Not delivering opinion(s)   Date of decision

Enhanced cooperation   Date announced in plenary

Motion(s) for resolution(s) included in report

Rapporteur(s)   Date appointed

Claude Turmes 21.9.2004

Previous rapporteur(s)

Discussed in committee

18.1.2005

19.4.2005

16.6.2005

Date adopted

21.6.2005

Result of final vote

for: against: abstentions:

26 5 15

Members present for the final vote

Ivo Belet, Šarūnas Birutis, Jan Březina, Jerzy Buzek, Joan Calabuig Rull, Pilar del Castillo Vera, Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, Giles Chichester, Lena Ek, Adam Gierek, Umberto Guidoni, András Gyürk, Fiona Hall, David Hammerstein Mintz, Rebecca Harms, Ján Hudacký, Romana Jordan Cizelj, Werner Langen, Pia Elda Locatelli, Nils Lundgren, Eluned Morgan, Angelika Niebler, Reino Paasilinna, Umberto Pirilli, Miloslav Ransdorf, Vladimír Remek, Herbert Reul, Teresa Riera Madurell, Paul Rübig, Andres Tarand, Britta Thomsen, Patrizia Toia, Claude Turmes, Nikolaos Vakalis, Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca

Substitutes present for the final vote

María del Pilar Ayuso González, Daniel Caspary, Dorette Corbey, Neena Gill, Norbert Glante, Edit Herczog, Peter Liese, Lambert van Nistelrooij, Francisca Pleguezuelos Aguilar, Vittorio Prodi, Peter Skinner

Substitutes under Rule 178(2) present for the final vote

Date tabled – A6

6.7.2005

A6-0227/2005