WRITTEN QUESTION E-1968/99 by Piia-Noora Kauppi (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Definition of peat in the Directive on the taxation of energy products.
8. 8. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 225 E/39 Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission (7 December 1999) Within the Commission the environment Directorate general oversees the implementation of the Natura 2000 network. Natura 2000, the European ecological network of special areas of conservation, involves sites designated under two environmental directives. Special protection areas (SPAs) are designated by Member States under Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds (1), and the Commission is notified. Under Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (2) Member States propose sites of Community interest (SCIs) and later designate them. The identification and selection of sites as well as definition of their boundaries for inclusion in Natura 2000 is exclusively a scientific exercise. Single landowners do not therefore have a role in this exercise. All data on the sites identified in Austria were formally communicated to the Commission by the Austrian authorities in application of the relevant criteria. There is no mechanism foreseen in the directives for the withdrawal of designated or nominated sites by Member States. However, should objections on a scientific basis occur, these should be brought to the attention of the Commission by the Member State. Seventy-three sites have been formally designated as SPAs in Austria, of which nineteen are in Lower Austria, and 113 sites have been formally proposed as SCIs in Austria, of which nineteen are in Lower Austria. For details on each site the Honourable Member is kindly invited to address the Austrian authorities. As far as detailed information on consequences for landowners is concerned, it should be noted that directives are binding as to the result to be achieved, but leave to the national authorities the choice of form and methods. The Natura 2000 network is based on the principle of subsidiarity. It is up to the Member States to determine how best to conserve the sites that are identified as being of Community importance. The consultation of landowners is not mentioned in the directives and is a matter for the Austrian authorities to decide. Any decision on whether or not to consult and its consequences, including the fulfilment of international treaties, is up to them. The inclusion of areas in Natura 2000 is not intended as a block on human activities. The emphasis is on ensuring that human activities are sustainable and not damaging to the conservation values. Management plans, involving owners and users, can be a valuable tool in addressing this objective. (1) OJ L 103, 25. 4. 1979. (2) OJ L 206, 22. 7. 1992. (2000/C 225 E/039) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1968/99 by Piia-Noora Kauppi (PPE-DE) to the Commission (5 November 1999) Subject: Definition of peat in the Directive on the taxation of energy products In its proposal for a Council Directive restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products (COM(97) 0030 ü C4-0155/97 ü 97/0111(CNS)) (1), the Commission also deals with the taxation of peat. In Finland, for example, peat bogs are an important natural resource, and the turf squares cut out from them cover some 7 % of Finlandís energy requirement. Some 6 500 people derive their livelihood either directly or indirectly from peat production. As yet, peat has not been classified as a renewable energy source like wood. In fact, peat is a renewable natural resource comparable with wood, with a longer cycle of renewal. The use of peat is essential if we are seeking to use renewable natural resources in energy production. Without the co-use of peat, wood-burning boilers could not be sufficiently productive and would not be profitable. Peat is only used in local energy production, and thus has no influence on the European internal market. C 225 E/40 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 8. 8. 2000 What does the Commission intend to do to ensure that the energy taxation directive currently in preparation takes account of the importance of peat in regional energy production? Does the Commission propose in future to define peat as an intrinsically renewable resource? Does the Commission intend to ensure that the efficient use of peat remains possible in future for the purpose of energy production in the Nordic countries? (1) OJ C 139, 6. 5. 1997, p. 14. Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission (3 December 1999) The Commission proposal for a Council directive on a Community framework for the taxation of energy products, mentioned by the Honourable Member, deals with all energy products, including peat. Peat whether or not agglomerated is covered by article 2, paragraph 1(c) of the proposal as falling under combined nomenclature code number 27 03. The Commission considers that the proposed directive establishes a flexible Community framework for the taxation of energy products such as peat, which makes it possible for Member States to restructure their national tax systems to attain national objectives in environment, employment, transport and energy policies, while respecting a key Community achievement: the single market. The Commission further considers that fuel peat has specific characteristics which makes it difficult to classify. As an organic material formed over several thousand years by the accumulation of plant debris under anaerobic water-logged conditions, peat contains most of the organic compounds of the original plants which formed it and could therefore be regarded as an organic based fuel. Nevertheless, the Commission, due to the renewal time of several thousand years, does not consider fuel peat as an intrinsically renewable resource. This is in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change (IPCC) Guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories under the United Nations framework Convention on climate change (UNFCCC). The Commission is aware of the importance of peat as a regional energy resource, which contributes to energy supplies, in particular in isolated areas. Security of energy supplies is one of the key energy objectives pursued by the Commission. Diversification and exploitation of indigenous energy resources, including the use of peat in the Nordic Member States and elsewhere in the Community, is an important policy in this respect. Moreover, national policies that combine production of peat with conservation of significant peatland areas and an appropriate implementation of an after-use policy could have a positive life-cycle impact on overall greenhouse gas emissions from peat production and use. The role of peat as an energy source is further analysed in a technical and scientific study commissioned by the Commission, entitled Evaluation of the fuel peat industry in the enlarged European Unioní and carried out jointly by a number of peat research organisations in the Community. A copy of the study is forwarded to the Honourable Member as well as to the Secretariat General of the Parliament. (2000/C 225 E/040) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1980/99 by Markus Ferber (PPE-DE) to the Commission (5 November 1999) Subject: Polish tariffs on yoghurt imported from the EU Polish tariffs have been progressively phased out as part of the Europe Agreement. The tariffs on fruit yoghurts gave fallen from 35 % in 1995 to 30 % (1996), 25 % (1997), 20 % (1998) to the current level of 9-12 %. In April 1999 the Polish authorities abolished the 9 % preferential tariff for fruit yoghurt with a fat content greater than 3,5 %, since when the GATT tariff of 35 % has applied