Meeting of 9-10 October in Luxemburg About the Transport Telecommunications and Energy Council
Energy package : The Council reached a deal on 10 October which represents an important step towards completing the internal energy market.
Commissioner Piebalgs stated: "I am pleased that Member States are supporting the Commission’s drive to create a real internal energy market. The internal market is essential to deliver all three of Europe’s energy objectives : a competitive European economy, security of energy supply and sustainability [...]. The main objective of the legislative package as proposed by the Commission in September 2007 and agreed by Energy Ministers today is to have a complete internal energy market with open competition and effective regulation”.
These measures are essential for ensuring that sufficient new power generation capacity is built throughout Europe. Energy Ministers and the Commission are convinced that high investment is needed to ensure capacity and transmission.
After the agreement in the Energy Council, the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission will enter into
negotiation to find a compromise. The whole package is
expected to be adopted in the first half of 2009.
Traffic offences : effective cross-border enforcement. At present, drivers committing an offence under the highway code in a Member State other than their own often avoid paying the penalty imposed on local drivers.
The Transport Committee approved on 09 September legislation
based on the proposal of the Commission of March 2008 (doc.
7984/08) to ensure that drivers will be able to be identified
and fined for offences they commit anywhere in the EU. The
proposal which consists in an exchange of electronic data among Members States to identify offenders covers offences such as speeding, drink-driving, not wearing a seat belt and failing to stop at a red light has been presented to the Council on October 9-10. Parliament is expected to give in November 2008 opinion on first reading.
www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressDat
a/en/trans/103282.pdf
Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies : The European Commission launched in October a long-term public-private
research partnership aimed at accelerating the commercialisation commercialisation of eco-friendly hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
Over the next six years, the EU ’Fuel cells and Hydrogen’ joint technology initiative (JTI) is to receive €470 million from the EU’s current research budget in Framework Programme Seven FP7 running until 2013. The amount has to be at least matched by private sector contributions. However Parliament who had backed the initiative warns the Commission about the necessity of having a Europe-wide network of filling station for hydrogen powered vehicle to ensure the success.
NB : Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs) are long-term public-private partnerships on areas defined as strategic for European research developed within the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7).
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Updated : November 20, 2008
