Opinion of the ECSC Consultative Committee on the proposal for a Council Directive restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products

(adopted unanimously at the 355th session of 5 April 2001)

(2001/C 170/05)

1. THE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE OF THE EUROPEAN COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITY,

1.1. referring to its Resolution on the proposal submitted by the European Commission for a Council Directive restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products(1);

1.2. stressing its fundamental reservations about any attempt by the EU Member States unilaterally to introduce ecological taxes, which would make European firms less competitive internationally;

1.3. with reference to the considerable efforts which the coal and steel industry has made over the past few decades, and more particularly in recent years, in the field of environment policy;

1.4. with reference to the recommendation of the Commission Green Paper "Towards a European strategy for the security of energy supply"(2) to increase energy taxes in the EU and to resume the discussion on the proposal for a Directive of 1997, and with a view to the request for additional "fiscal measures" contained in the Communication from the Commission on the sixth environment action programme of the European Community(3).

2. REQUESTS THAT, IN THE DISCUSSIONS CONDUCTED BOTH WITHIN THE COMMISSION AND IN THE MEMBER STATES, PARTICULAR ACCOUNT BE TAKEN OF THE FOLLOWING:

2.1. the need to avoid distortions of competition in the field of energy resulting from an approach to energy taxation which is insufficiently coordinated between Member States and industrial sectors;

2.2. the need for Europe to maintain competitive energy as the basis for competitive products;

2.3. the danger that, with the plans for taxation currently being promoted, approaches which are in some cases in contradiction to one another might be adopted in the various Member States;

2.4. the impossibility, so far, of achieving genuine harmonisation by means of a minimum rate;

2.5. the need to avoid any discrimination against a particular fuel, as is currently found in some Member States;

2.6. the possibility of supporting renewable energies by dedicated measures rather than by tax measures for other energies;

2.7. any taxation of the input for electricity generation has to be avoided since this achieves the opposite of what is intended;

2.8. the unacceptable nature of taxation proportional to CO2 production, since such a tax fails to take account of other greenhouse gases as well as of other environmental problems related to energy use and runs counter to the objective of tax harmonisation;

2.9. the fact that any taxation of energy needed for fuel production would be tantamount to double taxation.

3. ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS

3.1. From the point of view of the coal industry

3.1.1. The Commission proposal for the taxation of energy products makes it more difficult to maintain the energy mix in the European Community that is increasingly vital in view of the permanent risk of an oil crisis. Any taxation of input energy as proposed in Article 13(1)(b) would substantially reduce the competitiveness of fossil fuels and thus distort competition as regards the energy mix within a given Member State and between Member States.

3.1.2. If the tax exemptions referred to in Article 14 were applied - in particular to renewable energy sources and natural gas - solid fuels would be at a disadvantage. Any such application would be discriminatory, would distort competition and would run counter to the aims of the European Treaties. The Commission could no longer fulfil its energy policy remit as laid down in the White Paper "An energy policy for the European Union", namely to guarantee a secure, reasonably priced and environmentally sound supply of energy.

3.2. From the point of view of the steel industry

3.2.1. The Commission's tax concept is at odds with the voluntary commitments made by the steel industries of some EU Member States with a view to reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. It would make these commitments entirely superfluous and could generate a double taxation.

3.2.2. The tax exemption referred to in Article 13(1)(a) for the use of certain energy products for the purposes of chemical reduction and in metallurgical and electrolytic processes must apply to all energy products used in the steel industry, if, at the very least, distortions of competition between steel processes are to be avoided.

(1) OJ C 356, 22.11.1997, p. 3.

(2) COM(2000) 769 final.

(3) COM(2001) 31 final.