39 Amendments of Pervenche BERÈS related to 2015/2113(INI)
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas definingthe Energy Union project is inspired by the eEnergy mix of Member States is an exclusive national competence, and therefore energy mixes remain highly diversifiedCommunity project, which has the potential to profoundly redefine the functioning of the EU and to be as powerful a motor for integration as the ECSC; whereas it requires a commitment from the European Union taking into account national interests and the weight of the various operators in the industry;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the Member States arinterdependence between the countries of Europe means that energy choices need to be made collectively on the basis of a shared vision of needs and greater solidarity, as provided in the Treaty of Lisbon, above and beyond the exclusively competentce of Member States for defining their energy mix, and the Commission must not encroach upon this competence by passing EU laws that discriminate against certain energy resources to the advantage of othe; whereas, therefore, an upstream agreement and collective strategic choices are essential to establish at EU level, and in each of the Member States, ordered and coherent energy choices, including those concerning relations with the Union's partners and neighbours;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the Energy Union should be based on a transition away from fossil fuels and towards the three pillars of energy efficiency, renewable energy and smart infrastructure;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas measures for developing the Energy Union and achieving the 2030 climate targets must take full account of the impacts on energy prices, costs and the competitiveness of the EU economy in order to get the necessary support from citizens and industry;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Wa. whereas towns, regions and individual citizens are at the heart of the success of the Energy Union project;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the goal of a resilient Energy Union with an ambitious climate policy at its core is to ensure its energy autonomy, to respond to the challenges of climate disruption, to give EU consumers – households and businesses – secure, sustainable, competitive and affordable energy and to create sustainable jobs;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the issue of energy poverty needs to be tackled within the framework of the Energy Union by empowering vulnerable consumers, improving energy efficiency for the most vulnerable and developing curative measures making energy affordable for those in need;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the Energy Union must provide an effective response to the energy poverty which affects more than 100 million Europeans;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas energy poverty can be defined as the inability of a household to support an adequate level of energy supply so as to guarantee basic levels of comfort and health, due to a combination of low income, high energy prices and low quality housing stock;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas EU energy and climate policies must complement each another, and their objectives must reinforce rather than undermine one another; whereas the Energy Union shouldmust therefore complement European reindustrialisation targets, boost the transition to a low-emission economy and enhance the global competitiveness of the European economy, while effectively avoiding any threat of carbon leakage;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the 2006 and 2009 gas disputes between Russia and transit-country Ukraine left many EU countries with severe shortages, as a result of which all the Union's Member States should grasp the added value of a Union policy that resolutely seeks energy independence for the Union;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. whereas the EU must enable these investments to be funded by mobilising all existing resources, both public (the structural funds and the EIB) and private, encouraging the channelling of household savings and of the capacities of long-term investors (pension funds and insurance companies) and creating a new financial capacity for the EU;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P c (new)
Recital P c (new)
Pc. whereas EU energy and environmental policies should be driven by the strict application of the precaution principle;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)
Recital P a (new)
Pa. whereas strict compliance the precautionary principle should continue to underlie all our energy, environmental and health policies;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital X
Recital X
X. whereas the International Energy Agency’s estimates that the EU is responsible for 11 % of global greenhouse gas emissions and that this proportion is set to decrease in the future; whereas the EU’s must encourage the other countries on the planet to contributione to lowering global emissions must happen alongside that of other major emittat the COP 21 next Decembers;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. WelcomNotes the Commission communication entitled ‘A Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy’’ and the fact that the framework will have to be set out in detail in specific legislation over the coming years with the full involvement of the European Parliament as co-legislator;
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Amendment 418 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
Amendment 666 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25b. Stresses the importance of the availability of long-term funding to permit the construction of critical infrastructure; calls on the Commission: to create a 'European savings book' or dedicated bonds for energy infrastructure; to permit the amortisation of investments in energy infrastructure when calculating public deficits; to integrate the objectives of the Energy Union into the implementation of the Capital Union by encouraging capital expenditure on investment in infrastructure;
Amendment 668 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25b. Calls on the Commission to put in place a specific European Investment Fund for regions affected by strategic energy infrastructure projects in order to reduce cost overruns on projects, speed up completion times and boost activity in these regions; calls on the Commission, in preparing for the mid-term review of the multiannual financial framework, to issue proposals for developing existing tools to bring them in line with these objectives;
Amendment 687 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Calls on the Commission to encourage and support regional cooperation projects between operators of electricity and gas distribution networks, which are crucial in the interest of safe, competitive and sustainable energy, by enabling assistance for the local production of (particularly renewable) energy, and for coping with technological changes (smart networks, smart meters etc.) and with new modes of production and consumption (e.g. electric vehicles);
Amendment 715 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Stresses the need to create a 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 consumer choices; points out that such initiatives could contribute to reducing energy prices and help address serious social problems, such as fuel poverty; in this regard, ask the Commission to ensure that Member States fully implement the Third Energy Package and come up with a definition of vulnerable consumers; ask the Commission to gather impact assessments and collection of best practices of measures taken at national level to fight energy poverty and make sure that those best practices are centralised and promoted by a dedicated European body;
Amendment 725 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Stresses the need: to identify the best local practices and promote their dissemination throughout the Union; to improve coordination between local measures and European policies; to work on issues affecting local acceptance of energy projects; and proposes the establishment of a ‘European Territorial Forum’;
Amendment 761 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 b (new)
Paragraph 29 b (new)
29b. Stresses that the Energy Union must permit the gradual adoption of ambitious and binding energy efficiency targets for: thermic insulation and self-sufficient buildings; smart distribution networks and smart meters; public transport; and electric and hybrid vehicles, and that the achievement of these objectives requires the enactment of strict standards and incentives in a stable legislative environment;
Amendment 770 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Notes that improvements in energy- efficiency pursued on ain the interests of cohesion, solidarity and cost-effective basiness 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 806 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Calls on the Commission to encourage exchanges of views on energy projects between territorial entities in Europe (regions, local authorities, towns etc.) with a view to informing and bringing together elected representatives and the general public;
Amendment 820 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Stresses that a cautious revision of existing energy efficiency legislation, including the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive, is needed in order not to underminemust be inspired by the best practices of national policies already in place which operate within the 2020 climate and energy framework; calls on the Commission to review the EU energy- efficiency legislation by no sooner than 2018;
Amendment 842 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Acknowledges thate essential role of local authorities of European cities undoubtedly, which make an important contribution to energy independence by increasing energy- efficiency through cogeneration, modernising district heating systems, increasing the use of cleaner public transport, encouraging more active travel models and renovating buildings; urges them to cooperate;
Amendment 867 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Underlines the crucial role of renewables in the EU in attaining its greenhouse gas reduction targets; underlines that, in this regard, the current market design should be improved by fully integrating renewables into the market and introducing cost-reflective balancing prices;
Amendment 890 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36a. Points to the importance of distribution networks, which are at the heart of the energy transition as regards both the integration of renewable electricity and gas sources and usage transfers from fossil sources to electricity; points out that the key financial and industrial issues for this sector must be taken fully into account at European level;
Amendment 1035 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 a (new)
Paragraph 43 a (new)
43a. Emphasises that energy must be made affordable to all citizens of the EU; considers that avoiding unnecessary consumption by undertaking efficiency improvements, stronger interconnections, higher market integration and sustainable energy investment, particularly in buildings, would enable many households to access on equal conditions a single, sustainable, competitive and secure energy market and escape energy poverty, which in 2012 affected one in four EU citizens; invites the Commission to present a communication on energy poverty in Europe, accompanied by an action plan to fight against it, which contains a definition and indicators of energy poverty;
Amendment 1039 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 b (new)
Paragraph 43 b (new)
43b. Calls on the Commission to ‘green’ European cities and motorways by helping to set up evenly spaced recharging stations (electricity, CNG, hydrogen) so as to enable Europeans to move within and between all parts of the EU using low-carbon vehicles;
Amendment 1057 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Calls on the Commission to intensify its research efforts regarding the better use of Europe’s indigenous resources, both conventional and unconventionalresources;
Amendment 1105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
Paragraph 46 a (new)
46a. Points, given that the development of smart meters and connected devices is producing a growing volume of data, to the need for an energy data platform, in which distribution network managers, supervised by regulators, would play a central role in view of their data- gathering and -processing function and of the sensitive nature and vital importance of the data;
Amendment 1125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49
Paragraph 49
49. Calls on the Commission to provide an explicit mapping of the different funding and financing instruments, such as the InvestEU programme, Connecting Europe (PCIs), R&D funds, structural funds, smart grid financing instruments (ERA-Net Plus), the Horizon 2020 programme (H2020), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR), the Connecting Europe Facility - Energy (CEF-E), NER 300 and Eurogia+, and to clarify the eligibility rules for each of these programmes, while taking into account the technology neutral approach; calls on the Commission to aim to provide more balanced support and spending throughout the EU to avoid creating a technological rift between regions;
Amendment 1142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49 a (new)
Paragraph 49 a (new)
49a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that all proposals forming part of the Energy Union follow the ordinary legislative procedure, thus fully involving the European Parliament at all stages and ensuring effective democratic oversight; expects the governance process foreseen for the implementation of the 2030 climate and energy targets to be transparent, democratic and fully involve the European Parliament;
Amendment 1152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49 c (new)
Paragraph 49 c (new)
49c. Considers it essential to pool European R&D efforts in the field of smart grids; calls on the Commission, therefore, to: – centre the European R&D effort around four priorities: high-voltage direct current (HVDC), smart grids, storage, and clean mobility; – obtain feedback from the many smart grid demonstrators in order to determine which projects and technologies could be deployed immediately in testing on a larger scale; – provide for the necessary increases in the budgets for the SET Plan and the EEGI (European electricity grid initiative); – launch a large-scale specific programme on energy storage with a view to reducing its cost and determining use cases; – factor R&D expenditure into the distribution and transmission charges set by national regulators; – set up a network of European energy laboratories and institutes, modelled on the successful example of the Franco- German European Institute for Energy Research (EIFER); – strengthen the European presence within ISGAN (International Energy Agency [IEA] Implementing Agreement for a Co-operative Programme on Smart Grids);
Amendment 1154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49 c (new)
Paragraph 49 c (new)
49c. Maintains that Europe has to become a leader in energy innovation; calls on the Commission to intensify European standardisation efforts by establishing European pre-standardisation R&D, encouraging partnerships between equipment suppliers in order to make standardisation more cohesive and pave the way for joint cross-border smart grid projects, and by placing regulation-related work within a clear-cut unified European framework;
Amendment 1155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49 c (new)
Paragraph 49 c (new)
49c. Points to the importance of investing in education and training in order to respond more effectively to the challenges of energy security, thereby helping to bring European innovation excellence to the fore; calls on the Commission to support the establishment of a ‘European Energy College’ to train European energy professionals;