Committee on Industry, Research and Energy Ordinary meeting
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ITRE European Parliament
Follow its sittingsBorys Budka
Abstentions? Rejected. Two amendments, 21 and 22. Who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions? Adopted. Amendment 24D. Who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions? Rejected. Now 25 and 26. Who is in favor? Against?
Abstentions? Adopted. 28, 29. In favor? Against?
Abstentions? Adopted. 27 falls and 32. Who is against? Abstentions?
It is rejected. 34. In favor? Against? Abstentions?
Adopted. 39. Yeah, 39. Who is in favor? Against?
Abstentions? Adopted. 48. Who is in favor? Against?
Abstentions? Adopted. 53. In favor? Against?
Abstentions? Rejected. 54. Yeah, 54. Who is in favor?
Against? We will check, I'm sorry, because there is no clear majority. So electronic vote once again. Amendment 54. I open, this is the electronic vote.
Close the vote. Yeah, clear majority adopted. Thank you very much. 56. Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions? Adopted. And now we will have the vote as a block, amendments from 2 to 55. Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions? Adopted. And let's move to amendment 30. Who is in favor?
Who is against? I will check it. So I open the electronic vote. I close the vote. Clear majority adopted.
57. Who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions? Adopted.
58. In favor? Against?
So I open the electronic vote. I close the vote. Clear majority adopted. 57, who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions adopted. 58 in favor. Against? I will check it once another so I open the electronic vote 58. Close the vote.
Adopted. 59, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions adopted. 60 in favor.
Against? Abstentions adopted. And the last one 61, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions it has been adopted.
Thank you very much for this first block of votes. And let's move to item 7. Yeah. So because I've been informed that there is no clear majority for the compromise amendments first and the second, so we will vote in electronic procedure just to be sure. So the first we will vote on compromise amendments 1, so I open the vote.
I close the vote. Oh. It is adopted. So all falls and we will go direct to the final vote. And it is the roll call vote.
So I open the vote. Final vote. I open the vote. I close the vote. And it has been adopted.
Congratulations and it means that we've got 19 minutes break and we start sharply at 10:30 with our first guest first minister. Thanks a lot.
Dear colleagues, please take your seats and we will start our item eight. Okay, so now after the votes, we'll have exchange of views with Dara O'Brien, Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment and Minister of Transport. And I'd like to welcome our special guest today on our committee meeting and thank you for being with us today to present the program of the Irish presidency in the field of energy. We have approximately 45 minutes for this discussion and first, as always, we will have the opening remarks of our guest and then we will have a chance to exchange of views. So I've got the speaker list and if time permits, we will have the catch-the-eye procedure.
So first, I would like to give the floor to our guest for the seven minutes of opening remarks.
Speaker 2
Go raibh maith agat, Boris. Thank you indeed, Boris. A dhaoine uaisle go léir, a chairde, go mbeannaí Dia daoibh. Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom a rá gur is pribhléid agus onóir mhór é d'Éirinn uachtaránacht an Aontais Eorpaigh a ghlacadh den ochtú huair i mbliana. Táimid ag súil go mór leis an gcuid oibre atá romhainn a dhéanamh le chéile.
Dear colleagues, friends, good morning. It's great to be with you here and to thank our chairperson, Boris, for convening this meeting and affording me the opportunity to outline our priorities over the course of our presidency. Ireland is honored to take up the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time this year, and we do so at a very critical stage for the European Union, with greater uncertainty and unpredictability in the world. Ireland approaches this presidency with a clear sense of responsibility, of purpose, and indeed some excitement, and I'm honored to work with you as chair of the Energy Council. Ireland's presidency of the Council of the European Union will be guided by our overall presidency principle, Ní neart go cur le chéile, and that in English is strength with unity.
This reflects both the spirit of the European project and the approach that Ireland will bring to the presidency. Working closely together with our fellow member states and the European institutions, Ireland's presidency will be defined by action and by delivery as we take forward an ambitious agenda for Europe and for our citizens.
In all areas of work, we will build on the excellent progress that has been made by the Cypriot presidency, and we in turn will seek to lay strong foundations for further progress in the important areas of policy during the presidency terms of our trio partners, Lithuania and Greece. The Irish government has consulted extensively, friends, with partners and stakeholders to shape a presidency agenda which reflects a shared understanding of the issues that are important for Europe while placing the citizen at the very center of everything that we do. We have used the Union's strategic agenda for the period to 2029 to provide the backdrop of our planning work. And reflecting this, Ireland's presidency will focus on three key pillars. They are competitiveness, values, and security.
On competitiveness, we will focus on fostering the prosperity and well-being of the Union and all of its citizens. On values, we will strive to uphold the indispensable foundation of our Union. And on security, we will place the protection of our citizens, of our economy, our society, and our environment at the center of all of our work. During the presidency, the Energy Council will prioritize work to deliver sustainable, affordable, and secure energy systems right the way across the European Union. Geopolitical instability continues to shape our energy landscape.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has contributed to rising global energy prices and renewed market volatility, creating real challenges for affordability, for competitiveness, and security of supply right the way across Europe. Our dependence on imported fossil fuels has created a strategic exposure that carries a very significant economic cost. Over half of all energy consumed across Europe still comes from imported fossil fuels, one of the highest dependency ratios in the world, which leaves us highly exposed to global price shocks and originating well behind, beyond, excuse me, Europe's borders. Lasting resilience requires structural change because the strongest response to fossil dependency is reducing fossil dependency itself. Ireland shares the view of the European Commission that the only lasting way out of fossil dependency is to modernize by shifting electricity generation to renewables and clean energy, thereby electrifying the economy as rapidly as possible.
The Irish presidency will therefore emphasize the need for accelerated electrification and deployment of renewable and clean energy to deliver decarbonized and affordable power for all European citizens. Electrification must become a central pillar of Europe's efforts to strengthen security, industrial competitiveness, and affordability. It is a key to improving efficiency, to reducing exposure to imported fuels, and keeping more economic value within the European Union. Indeed, friends, only through unrelenting deployment of indigenous renewable energy and clean energy supported by robust grids and a common ambition to electrify our societies will European countries, businesses, and people finally break free from this vicious cycle. Ireland therefore welcomes the electrification action plan which was published by the European Commission in July, and we look forward to working with member states, with Parliament, the Commission, and industry to translate the ambition of this plan into delivery.
Ireland is hugely committed to the energy objectives in the One Europe One Market roadmap signed last April by the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission. In alignment with the timelines of the roadmap, the Irish Presidency will drive the EU's agenda forward to reach agreement with the European Parliament on the grids package, to deliver a general approach on network charges proposals and to meaningfully progress the upcoming energy security framework. Our Presidency will aim to progress the Euratom research and training programme, which covers nuclear research and innovation, and to progress work on the Connecting Europe Facility. We also look forward to the post-2030 framework, which we intend to discuss at our December Energy Council. The conflict in the Middle East has seen Europe facing its second major fossil shock in four years, following the earlier crisis triggered by Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the impact of climate change on energy systems is steadily increasing. Droughts and wildfires are larger and longer lasting. Air, river and sea temperatures are breaking records. And this is actually being acutely felt right now in Central and Eastern Europe, where low Danube levels are directly reducing energy production and increasing costs for our citizens. The lesson from recent years, friends, is clear.
Europe needs to break the cycle of vulnerability and build an energy system that is affordable, that is competitiveness, that is competitive, excuse me, and resilient, that's anchored in electrification. I would like to commend the Commission for their response through the accelerated EU and grids package and the electrification action plan. To complement this ongoing work, it's my intention to facilitate a discussion amongst ministers at the informal meeting of ministers in September in Dublin, focused on how we can avoid future crises and improve EU energy resilience. As Ireland assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we do so, friends, with a strong sense of purpose and responsibility. We will work towards an integrated, secure and affordable and, really importantly, a sustainable energy framework for Europe, and we will advance progress across renewable deployment, electrification, grid infrastructure and resilience.
We face, our continent, our European Union faces a very challenging period, and at the same time Europe possesses a major opportunity to strengthen resilience, to strengthen our competitiveness and strategic autonomy through the clean energy transition. The decisions taken during the coming months and coming years will shape Europe's economic and strategic position for decades ahead. Ireland intends to use its Presidency to help ensure that Europe emerges stronger, that it emerges more resilient and better prepared for the future. And I very much look forward to substantive and cooperative engagement with yourselves, members of the European Parliament, as we move forward on our shared objectives. Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.
Thank you very much indeed.
Borys Budka
Thank you very much for the opening remarks and now it's time for the coordinators or group representatives, two minutes each and please be strict to your time and we start with EPP and Professor Andrea Wechsler, the floor is yours.
Andrea Wechsler
Ja, sehr geehrter Herr Minister O'Brien, haben Sie herzlichen Dank für Ihren heutigen Besuch, den wir sehr schätzen. Herzlichen Dank für das gute Miteinander zwischen Rat und Parlament und auch die Schwerpunkte, die Sie zum Ausdruck gebracht haben: Verantwortung, Delivery und Unity.
Ich hätte nun einige Fragen an Sie. Beim Wasserstoffhochlauf hat die Kommission selbst erkannt, dass der Wasserstoffhochlauf zu langsam ist und eine Überarbeitung des delegierten Rechtsakts für erneuerbaren Wasserstoff angekündigt, aber nichts wurde vorgelegt. Und die Industrie wartet weiter auf Planungssicherheit. Und deswegen meine erste Frage: Mit welchem Druck wird Irland dafür sorgen, dass die Kommission jetzt eine praxistaugliche Lösung im Bereich Wasserstoff vorlegt? Dasselbe gilt für das Energy Security Package.
Sie haben es auch bereits ausgeführt. Es war für das zweite Quartal angekündigt und fehlt weiterhin. Dabei brauchen wir ganz dringend robuste Netze, Schutz vor Cyberangriffen, hybriden Bedrohungen sowie Vorsorge bei kritischen Komponenten. Und daher meine zweite Frage: Wie wollen Sie als Präsidentschaft gemeinsam mit dem Parlament darauf hinwirken, dass die Vorschläge zeitnah erfolgen und dass wir ehrgeizig dieses Paket so schnell wie möglich verhandeln? Dann zum dritten Punkt: das Thema Elektrifizierung, zu dem Sie ja auch eine klare Haltung hier zum Ausdruck gebracht haben.
Und in diesem Kontext müssen wir auch über neue Großverbraucher sprechen. In Irland entfallen inzwischen 23 Prozent des gemessenen Stromverbrauchs auf Rechenzentren, mehr als auf alle städtischen Haushalte. Wir wollen in Europa nicht nur in die Elektrifizierung, sondern auch in die Digitalisierung gehen, in KI neue Rechenkapazitäten investieren. Und daher meine Frage: Wie werden Sie sich einsetzen, dass daraus nicht ein neues Netz- und Strompreisproblem für Industrie und für unsere Bürgerinnen und Bürger wird? Und abschließend: der Industrial Accelerator Act, der auch massive wichtige Implikationen für den Energiesektor hat.
Er soll europäische Wertschöpfung, Resilienz und unsere energieintensiven Industrien stärken. Und daher meine Frage: Welche Schwerpunkte wird Irland hier setzen? Wie stellen wir sicher, dass europäische Präferenz- und Resilienzkriterien unsere Energieversorgung stärken, ohne aber Energie- und Infrastrukturprojekte teurer und langsamer zu machen? Denn am Ende ist die zentrale Frage: Wie machen wir aus europäischen Zielen bezahlbare, sichere und nachhaltige Energie für unsere Bürgerinnen und die Industrie? Dankeschön.
Nicolás González Casares
Gracias, presidente, y gracias, ministro O'Brien. Le deseo mucha suerte en esta presidencia. Usted lo ha dicho: vivimos una crisis fósil en medio de una emergencia climática. Lo que ha ocurrido en Ormuz está afectando duramente a las familias europeas. Pensamos que iba a haber una relajación este verano, pero los precios están como están.
Hoy el TTF está a más de 70 euros megavatio hora y la mayoría de las familias europeas pagan el litro de combustible de sus coches por encima, a veces muy por encima, de los dos euros. Por lo tanto, ante esta situación donde muchos se están enriqueciendo a costa de una crisis que golpea a la ciudadanía, ¿va a impulsar la presidencia irlandesa medidas como una windfall tax profit a las grandes energéticas o piensa hacer algún impuesto permanente o impulsar algún impuesto permanente en estos casos para las grandes compañías del oil and gas? En cuanto a electrificación, creemos que es muy importante avanzar por ahí, pero la electrificación debe ser y debe funcionar también para toda la ciudadanía. Y estamos viendo, y se ha comentado por la señora Besler previamente, que la irrupción de los centros de datos y su despliegue para la inteligencia artificial está provocando tensiones en el suministro de la electricidad. Concretamente su país es un ejemplo de esto: 23 por ciento de esa electricidad dedicada a centros de datos y ha aumentado el coste que pagan las familias irlandesas aproximadamente 360 euros al año.
Y su país ha decidido que los nuevos centros de datos cuenten con un 80 por ciento de energía renovable adicional. ¿Considera que esta es una propuesta adecuada para incorporar al Cloud and Digital Act que estamos que estamos debatiendo en este Parlamento, el CADA?
E além disso não nos asseguramos a soberania porque estamos dando lugar a uma nova soberania nestes dados. Por último gostaria de perguntar-lhe sobre governança, mas o cenário 2030 pós-2030 crê que deve incluir um objetivo de renováveis? Muito obrigado.
Paolo Borchia
Thank you, thank you Chair. Welcome Minister, allow me to have the floor in Italian, sorry. Tema ETS: il prezzo dell'elettricità lo fissa la centrale più costosa che è quasi sempre una centrale a gas. Però chi produce dal gas paga anche le quote di CO2 perché è quella e visto che è quella la centrale a determinare il prezzo, il costo della CO2 finisce nelle bollette di tutti anche quando l'energia arriva da fonti pulite. Questo è un peso enorme, faccio l'esempio dell'Italia dove il governo ha quantificato in oltre 7 miliardi il costo d'incidenza sulla bolletta nazionale.
È per questo che l'Italia ha chiesto una sospensione temporanea dell'ETS sul termo elettrico in attesa della revisione. Questo non per smantellare il mercato del carbonio ma per evitare che nelle crisi questo faccia esplodere il costo dell'energia anziché guidare la transizione. La revisione è arrivata a luglio ma anziché offrire un sollievo immediato ha rafforzato la riserva di mercato, uno strumento di lungo periodo che però non tocca il peso di oggi e la sola valvola di emergenza già prevista non è stata attivata. Quindi la domanda è semplice e diretta: questa presidenza è disposta a sostenere un meccanismo che in una crisi eccezionale impedisca al prezzo della CO2 di far salire ulteriormente le bollette oppure ritiene sufficiente un sistema che alla fine dei conti non è mai stato messo alla prova? Thank you.
Anna Zalewska
Thank you Mr. Chair, I speak Polish. Bardzo dziękuję panu ministrowi za przedstawienie tematów czy prac prezydencji, ale myślę, że najważniejsze co przed prezydencją to reforma ETS-u. Prezydencja już słyszę zapowiada bardzo intensywne prace, intensywne spotkania, chce reagować i to chyba ważne, że to jest prezydencja irlandzka dlatego, że sama ma kłopoty z nierealnymi, nie rzeczywistymi, niemożliwymi do zrealizowania celami klimatycznymi z powodów finansowych, technicznych. W związku z tym rozumiem, że będziecie mieć tę wrażliwość. ETS jest tym mechanizmem, który doprowadził do upadku gospodarczego Unii Europejskiej.
W związku z tym większość krajów już głośno albo po cichu mówi, że nie chce tego systemu.
W związku z tym ja chcę odpowiedzi na pytania, czy te propozycje, bo one są iluzoryczne, tutaj Komisja chce zaczarować kraje europejskie, a przede wszystkim zirytowanych Europejczyków, że coś w tej dziedzinie robi, łącznie z tym, że mówi, że oto może rzeczywiście będą darmowe uprawnienia, jeżeli chodzi o ETS, po to, żeby służyły przedsiębiorcom. Ale dobrze wszyscy wiedzą, że te darmowe uprawnienia dostaną tylko ci, którzy się zamkną, ci, którzy są zasilani węglowodorem. Pan też węglowodorami. Pan też tutaj mówi o tym uniezależnieniu się od węglowodorów. Ale bądźmy uczciwi w stosunku do Europejczyków i mówmy o tym, że dużo bardziej jesteśmy uzależnieni od metali ziem rzadkich, bez których energetyka odnawialna, energia odnawialna i właściwie wszystko to, czego potrzebujemy, jest niemożliwa.
Proponuję, żeby prezydencja przeczytała raport Trybunału Obrachunkowego, który pokazuje to bezwzględne uzależnienie. Więc wydaje mi się, że to są takie dwie najważniejsze rzeczy. Wszystkie inne będą wtórne, będziemy trzymać kciuki, żeby się państwu udawało, ale bez takiego rozwiązania, bez właściwie działającego ETS-u albo braku ETS-u, bo cały świat od tego odszedł i Unia Europejska została z tym sama, nie jesteśmy w stanie dalej bezpiecznie funkcjonować. Dziękuję.
Christophe Grudler
Merci, Monsieur le Ministre. Je vais parler en français. Merci pour votre présence et vos remarques. Nous partageons avec vous le constat : l'Europe doit renforcer ses chaînes d'approvisionnement et travailler avec des partenaires de confiance, en particulier dans le secteur de l'énergie. Et c'est peut-être à ce sujet-là que je voulais interroger votre vision personnelle de l'accélérateur industriel et du Made in Europe.
Vous aviez affirmé il y a quelques mois que l'Europe n'a pas encore les capacités industrielles nécessaires pour voler de ses propres ailes, mais si nous attendons d'avoir les usines avant de créer la demande, nous pouvons attendre longtemps. Et la Chine pendant ce temps, elle, elle n'attend pas. Et donc c'est le rôle de l'accélérateur industriel : créer des marchés pour permettre à notre industrie d'investir et de se développer. Nous avons déjà fait l'erreur d'abandonner des pans complets de chaînes de valeur à la Chine : le photovoltaïque, les batteries, les composants critiques par exemple. Nous ne pouvons pas accepter que l'Europe devienne une simple plateforme d'assemblage pendant que les emplois, les technologies et la valeur ajoutée sont produits ailleurs.
Et c'est aussi une question de sécurité évidemment, puisqu'une dépendance énergétique à une puissance étrangère n'est pas seulement une faiblesse économique, c'est aussi une vulnérabilité stratégique. On l'a vu avec la défense et maintenant, tirons-en les leçons, j'allais dire, pour le secteur de l'énergie. Alors j'ai deux questions simples à vous poser. À votre avis, lorsque l'argent des contribuables européens est engagé, pourquoi ne devrait-il pas contribuer en priorité à renforcer notre propre industrie ? Et deuxièmement, par rapport toujours à ce sujet de l'accélérateur industriel, quelles sont selon vous les principales difficultés qu'il va falloir surmonter pour que les négociations aboutissent au niveau du Conseil ?
Merci.
Isabella Lövin
Thank you, Chair, Minister.
Now the ETS is the most efficient emissions reduction mechanism that we have. So after this summer of extreme heat waves where we've seen people dying, rivers drying up, forest fires, homes and houses lost, it should be obvious to everyone that slowing down the ETS is jeopardizing the green transition. But not only that, the EU leadership on green tech innovation, they can also lead global decarbonization. And that is exactly the wrong thing to do, that we should on the contrary speed up the implementation, making us, as you said, independent on fossil fuels and avoiding further worsening the climate crisis. Now the Commission has already made significant concessions in its ETS proposal, slowing down the reduction of emissions.
But yet some member states are asking to go even further. And we can already see the consequences of that. The price signal on emissions is weakening. It's becoming cheaper to emit, something many industries were not counting on when they took enormous investment decisions years ago, relying on a strong price signal on emissions. In northern Sweden, where I come from, companies such as SSAB, Stegra, have invested billions in fossil-free and low-carbon steel.
They took enormous financial risks based on a clear European policy. Free allowances should be phased out, the supply of allowances should decrease and emitting carbon should become increasingly expensive. Now we're changing these rules in the middle of the game. And this is not only bad climate policy, it's also bad industrial policy. We risk rewarding those who delay the transition and penalize companies that moved first.
So when you take the presidency and put forward your compromise, where do you draw the line? How will you ensure that the compromise does not further weaken the ETS and its price signal, and how do you protect the investments already made, those that really have invested in the transition so that you don't favor those who just try to delay their investments? Thank you.
Borys Budka
Thank you very much. And now we've got seven minutes for our guest to answer the questions and then if we have enough time we will start the catch-the-eye procedure.
Speaker 2
Thank you, Chair, and look, thank you, colleagues, as well for your contributions and for your questions. Could I just say at the outset, I did mention it in my opening remarks as well, is that we approach the presidency from, particularly with some very significant files which I'll touch on here, from an honest broker perspective. And part of me being here with you today as well is to hear those different perspectives. But I think everything that we do has got to have the citizen at the center of it. So if we look at, let's say, the ETS, which has been mentioned by a number of colleagues here as well, look, we have set forward a very ambitious timeframe which has been agreed.
And you know, my personal views on it, I think it'd be inappropriate for me to talk about my personal views because I want to, you know, be a fair chairperson, what we want to do is efficiently bring these files forward. So for example on ETS, like we've already set forward ten working party meetings. It was discussed at the Council, as I said, in July. We want to get it to the ETS to the Council in October. The Parliament's input into that is going to be absolutely critical.
I think most would believe that ETS has been a very important weapon in our armoury in relation to climate action and decarbonization. Some will not, some will have different views and I respect that. But I think it is part of the mechanism that the European Union can use forward to accelerate decarbonization and indeed electrification. So we have set forward a very ambitious timeline there to get that back.