Activities of Jean-Luc SCHAFFHAUSER related to 2015/2113(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on Towards a European Energy Union PDF (302 KB) DOC (292 KB)
Amendments (41)
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas it is only states that have the capacity and the responsibility towards their people to determine their country's energy supply policy; whereas security of supply is the state’s first duty, which implies the freedom to negotiate supply contracts;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the Member States are exclusively competent for defining their energy mix, their supply policy and the status of their public electricity and gas services, and the Commission must not encroach upon this competence by passing EU laws that discriminate against certain energy resources to the advantage of others;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the future vision of the Energy Union must be one in which Member States recognise that they depend on each other to deliver secure energy to their citizens, based on true solidarity and trust, and in which the Energy Union speaks with one voiceMember States must guarantee secure energy to their citizens, and whereas the Energy Union, as an inter- state cooperation body, has no legitimacy to speak in global affairs;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas many countries are heavily reliant on a single supplier, including some that rely entirely on Russia for their natural gas and others that heavily rely on Northern Africa, which leaves them vulnerable to supply disruptions, whether these are caused by political or commercial disputes resulting from the Union’s policy and interference by the USA, or by infrastructure failure;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the 2006 and 2009 gas disputes between Russia and transit-country Ukraine, provoked by foreign interference by NATO and the USA in Ukraine's internal policies, left many EU countries with severe shortages;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O
Recital O
O. whereas ex-post assessment and verification of all energy-related agreements as regards compliance with EU law is already possible through, inter alia, competition and energy regulations; whereas insufficient ex-ante compliance checks at national and EU level lead to severe market distortionssuch regulations should cease, leaving states their freedom in accordance with the subsidiarity principle, so as to restore to them their exclusive competence in the field of energy;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas 30 million European jobs are at risk owing to the US shale gas boom, as energy-intensive industries move operations to the US, where energy costs are far lower, and whereas no protectionist measures have been undertaken by the Commission and the Council to counter this unacceptable dumping;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital T
Recital T
T. whereas a more economically and physically integrated single market in energy could result in efficiency gains of some EUR 50 billion; lead to an economic and social disaster, as an end to the public monopoly on these strategic industries would encroach on national and territorial cohesion; whereas opening these markets in the interest of short-term gains would create energy insecurity as a result of the fluctuations and variations in prices manipulated by speculative finance;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital U
Recital U
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital V
Recital V
V. whereas the external dimension of EU energy policy needs more coherence and has not yet tapped its full potential to contribute in terms of security of energy supply and the Union’sEU energy policy should not have an external dimension, which is the sole prerogative of states; whereas such a policy can only exist thanks to enhanced comopetitivenesration between states;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital W
Recital W
W. whereas the European Energy Security Strategy identified 33 infrastructure projects which areit considers essential to improve security of supply and to better connect energy markets; whereas such a network can only be established in order to enhance the national energy independence of states;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Y
Recital Y
Y. whereas diversification of supplies, the completion of the internal energy market, more efficient energy consumption, the development of indigenous energy resources and R&D activities are the key drivers of the Energy Union;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. WelcomeRejects the Commission communication entitled ‘A Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward- Looking Climate Change Policy’;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to actively pursue the diversification of supply (energy sources, suppliers and routes); to this end, calls on the Commission to promote the construction of the relevant energy infrastructure priority corridors, as specified in Annex I to the trans- European energy networks (TEN-E) regulation and Part II of the Annex I to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) regulation, such as the Southern Gas Corridorprovide support to those states which seek it in the diversification of their energy sources, suppliers and supply routes;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that all EU infrastructure projects aimed at diversifying energy sources, suppliers and routes must be fully in line with EU legislation and EU energy security prioritiesthe wishes of the states concerned;
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines the fact that energy suppliers coming from third countries must be subject to the EU acquis while operating on the common market, and calls on the Commission to enforce EU law by all means available in order to allow energy to flow freely in the EU and prevent distortions in the international legislation while operating on a national market;
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that it is of upthe utmost importance to the EU to end the isolation of some Member States from the internal energy market, as demonstrated by the gas stress tests carried out by the Commission; calls on the Commission, in this regard, to carry out such tests every two yearsend the energy dependency of some Member States, as demonstrated by the gas stress tests carried out by the Commission;
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to support those Member States that wish tonot to interfere in the negotiateion of energy contracts on a voluntary basis by introducing a common negotiating mechanism, and stresses that the functioning of such a mechanism must be subject to compliance with the EU internal market acquis and with EU competition and World Trade Organisation rulesand therefore, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity and the enhanced cooperation mechanism, to allow states full sovereignty in managing their energy supply and energy security;
Amendment 358 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses that greater transparency of intergovernmental agreements could be achieimproved by strengtheneliminating the role of the Commission in energy-related negotiations involving one or more Member States and third countries, including by having the Commission participate in those negotiations if there is a risk of abuse of a dominant position by one supplier; notes that; considers furthermore that the Commission should not carry out ex-ante andor ex-post assessments andor draw up both a positive and a negative list of agreement clauses, such as export ban and destinationany list of agreement clauses;
Amendment 378 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses that all future intergovernmental energy agreements with non-EU parties must be discussed with the Commission ahead of signing in order to make sure that they comply with EU legislationshall lie outside the competence of the Commission, falling instead under states’ full sovereign competence; rejects, in particular with, the Third Energy Package, which usurps states’ strategic prerogatives;
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
Amendment 389 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission to refrain from prepareing draft contract templates and guidelines includingand, in particular, any indicative list of abusive clauses in order to create a reference for competent authorities and companies in their contracting activities;
Amendment 394 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses that, in order to ensure a level playing field and strengthen the bargaining position of EU companies vis-à- vis external suppliers, key features ofstates, as the contracts should be aggregated and regularly published so as to establish a transparent benchmark which can be referred to by competent authorities and companies in their future negotiations, whilst protectingly guarantors in the long term, must be accorded their sovereign prerogatives and freedom, and the confidentiality of sensitive information must be protected;
Amendment 401 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 446 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Believes that the Union can reduce its dependency on particular suppliers and fuels by maximising its use of indigenous sources of energy, including conventional and unconventional low-emission fossil fuels and renewables, and therefore stresses that no fuel or technology contributing to energy security and climate goals should be discriminated against; considers nonetheless that the environmental and health consequences of hydraulic fracturing are too serious for shale gas and shale oil to be seen as serious alternatives to conventionally extracted gas and oil;
Amendment 447 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Believes that the Union can reduce its dependency on particular suppliers and fuels by maximising its use of indigenous sources of energy, including conventional and unconventional low-emission fossil fuels and renewables, and therefore stresses that no fuel or technology contributing to energy security and climate goals should be discriminated against as a matter of principle;
Amendment 463 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Believes that indigenous resources, both conventional and unconventional, which have the potential to increase the EU’s energy security of supply should be fully tapped and that unnecessary regulatory burdens on the entities willing to invest in these fields must be avoidedin a prudent manner;
Amendment 483 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission to facilitate the effective use ofmake the existing EU funding schemes, including the European Fund for Strategic Investments, so as to support investment in the development of Europe’s indigenous energy resources, based on a technology-neutral approachavailable to national strategic investment funds and public development banks so as to give states the means of financing and enhancing energy resources to meet their development needs;
Amendment 491 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Commission, and in particular DG TRADE, to continue to press for a dedicated energy chapter within the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), with a view to removing US export restrictions on both crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and eliminating protectionist measure to terminate the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations;
Amendment 504 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen the Energy Community through, inter alia, better implementation and enforcement of EU law, enhancing its institutions and implementing key infrastructure projects in order to ensure better integration with the EU energy market and security of supply mechanisms and, in particular, supporting the Russian Blue Stream gas pipeline project;
Amendment 515 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Believes that the future Energy Union must establish a free flow of energy across EU countries as the fifth European freedom alongside free movement of people, goods, capital and servicesexists only in full cooperation with states and with respect for their sovereignty;
Amendment 541 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Stresses that the backbone of the future Energy Union must be a fully functioning internal energy markets that delivers secure, competitive and sustainable energy to enable EU countries’ companies and consumers to access gas and electricity in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible;
Amendment 567 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Believes at the same time that market- based mechanisms must be complemented by tangible and ambitious solidarity mechanisms, such as more efficient EU crisis management, better use of LNG and gas storage and virtual capacity reserve mechanisms to be enshrined in EU legislation, including the Security of Gas Supply Regulation, which, to this end, must be reviewed as soon as possible;
Amendment 583 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Stresses the need for full implementation and enforcement of existing EU energy legislation and for a swift adoption of ambitious European network codes and guidelinesthe total abolition of existing EU energy legislation, which must go hand in hand with strengthenansforming the competences of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) and the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSO-G) into inter- governmental agencies founded on the principle of free cooperation on a voluntary, project-by-project basis;
Amendment 615 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Stresses that a properly designed future model of the electricity market in the EU must aim at a more market-based and optimal, from the point of view of networkintegration of renewable energy sources while maintaining national public monopolies which are the only guarantees of people's security, integration of renewable energy sources the long term;
Amendment 644 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to concentrate their efforts on driving projects of common interest (PCIs) forward, with a view to achieving a pan- European ‘super grid’ with the capacity to transmit power across EU countries from multiple sources and therefore capable of diverting energy from surplus to deficit areas, thereby allowing the market to instantly respond to interruptions of supply wherever they occuriding EU countries to become independent in terms of energy;
Amendment 679 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Supports regional approaches where there are particular regional challenges or opportunities, or where acting regionally could speed up market integrationthe achievement of energy independence by states, including through the cremutualisation of regional hubs to enhance market liquiditythe funding of electricity production infrastructure;
Amendment 704 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Stresses the need to create adismantle the existing legislative framework that empowers consumers and makes them active participants in the market as investors and stakeholders; notes that consumers’ involvement can be strengthened through, inter alia, energy cooperatives and micro-generation and enhanced transparency of prices and consumeand restore to states the freedom to maintain the public monopolies on electricity and gas that are necessary for their economic, social and territorial cohesion and for their national industrial strategy; notes that maintaining regulated tariffs for cthoices; points out that such initiatives could contribute to reducing energy prices and help address serious social problems, such as fuel povertyse states that wish it is the best way of defending the interests of both individual and industrial consumers;
Amendment 782 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Notes that improvements in energy- efficiency pursued on a cost-effective basis and strategic action by states and public finance institutions will make a key contribution to energy security, competitiveness and the achievement of climate objectives; stresses, however, that gains in energy efficiency cannot replace diversification of energy supply;
Amendment 804 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Believes that it will be important to avoid over-prescriptiveany legislation that can constrain domestic policy choices about how best to promote energy efficiency within a national context;