The Energy Council Meeting 12.6.2009 - Conclusions

• Main results in Energy part

The Council reached a political agreement on a directive requiring member states to maintain minimum stocks of oil or petroleum products. The Council will formally adopt the text without debate at a forthcoming Council meeting after legal linguists' revision.

Oil stocks

The Council reached a political agreement on a directive requiring member states to maintain minimum stocks of oil or petroleum products (11018/09).

The Council will formally adopt the text without debate at a forthcoming Council meeting after legal linguists' revision.

The proposed directive, which is to replace all existing Community legislation in this field (Council directives 2006/67/EC and 73/238/EEC and Council decision 68/416/EEC), is aimed at improving the functioning of the current EU oil stocks mechanisms, so as to ensure availability of oil in the event of a crisis.

To that end the text agreed by ministers seeks to improve the regulatory framework and to reinforce various elements of the stockholding practice in the EU, for example by encouraging the setting up of a central stockholding entities by member states. The purpose of these entities is to acquire, maintain and sell oil stocks for the purposes of this directive or for complying with international agreements concerning the maintenance of oil stocks.

In addition, member states will ensure that by 31 December 2012 the total oil stocks maintained at all times within the EU for their benefit correspond, at the very least, to 90 days of average daily net imports or 61 days of average daily inland consumption, whichever of the two quantities is greater.

Furthermore, the directive provides for an obligation for all member states to hold at least 30 days of stocks or a third of their stockholding obligation in the form of refined products. The directive also proposes the voluntary creation of specific stocks, i.e. product reserves established specifically for the purposes of this directive.

The directive is also intended to align intra-EU rules with International Energy Agency-led action on the release of emergency oil stocks.

As far as the periodicity of reporting on oil stocks is concerned, the text agreed stipulates that member states will send to the Commission a monthly statistical summary of the levels of commercial stocks held within their national territory. The Commission will publish on this basis a monthly statistical summary of the commercial stocks in the EU. The provisions on reporting, including the periodicity, can be modified through comitology.

The Commission presented its proposal in November 2008 (15910/1/08).

Energy efficiency package

In a public deliberation, the Council took note of a progress report (8989/09) summarising the work done so far on the energy efficiency package, which contains the following three proposals: an energy labelling directive (15906/1/08), a tyres labelling directive (15920/08) and an energy performance of buildings directive (15929/1/08).

This report also lists the implementing measures submitted by the Commission, under the regulatory procedure with scrutiny, to the Council and the European Parliament during this Presidency, in the context of the framework directives on eco-design requirements and energy labelling.

The purpose of the three proposals on energy efficiency is to contribute to the achievement of the objective of a 20% reduction in the EU's energy consumption by 2020, as called for by the 2007 spring European Council conclusions.

The work on these files will continue under the Swedish Presidency, which intends to reach agreement with the European Parliament on these proposals.

Energy labelling directive

This proposal recasts directive 92/75/EEC on the indication by labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources by household appliances and repeals directive 79/530/EEC. Its objective is to extend its scope, currently restricted to household appliances, to allow (after the adoption of implementing measures per product group) for the labelling of all energy-related products: this could include products used in the household, commercial and industrial sectors and non-energy using products such as windows which have a

significant potential to save energy once in use or installed.

The proposal creates a labelling scheme for tyre parameters including fuel efficiency, wet grip and external rolling noise, addressing tyres fitted on passenger cars, light commercial vehicles and heavy duty vehicles. It provides harmonised and easy-to-understand information to consumers, companies and retailers by grading tyre performance characteristics. It will guarantee that the information is made available to end-users via different media (e.g. electronic, catalogues, stickers).

The proposal clarifies, strengthens and extends the scope of the current directive 2002/91/EC in particular by:

– extending the scope of the provision requiring member states to set up minimum energy performance requirements for new buildings and for major renovations ;

– reinforcing the provisions on energy performance certificates, inspections of heating and air-conditioning systems, , information, and independent experts, and adding an obligation to calculate cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements.

– stimulating member states to develop frameworks and targets in order to increase the percentage of low or zero energy and carbon buildings;

– encouraging the public sector to become more actively involved and to take a lead.

The Commission presented these three proposals in November 2008. The European Parliament adopted its first reading opinion on the tyres labelling proposal (8876/1/09) as well as on the energy performance of buildings proposal (8877/1/09) in April and on the energy labelling proposal in May 2009 (9322/09).

International energy relations

The Council took note of the information provided by the Presidency and the Commission on events and developments in international relations that took place during the Czech Presidency, or are due to take place soon (9852/09 + 9852/09 COR 1). The briefing included, amongst other things, the fourth EU-Russia Partnership Council, relations with Ukraine, the issue of supply of Russian gas through Ukraine, the Southern Corridor countries summit, the Energy Community and the EU-OPEC energy dialogue.

Source: Press Release 10850/09, 12.6.2009