Participation of Mr. Gibellieri, CCMI delegate, to the 2nd Meeting of the Commission High Level Expert Group on Energy Intensive Industries on 20/06/2016 in Brussels
Report
The agenda of the 2nd Meeting of the Commission High Level Expert Group on Energy Intensive Industries, Chaired by Mr Antti Peltomaki – Deputy Director General of DG GROW, was organized in two main topics:
1 – Anticipation on the Commission 2nd Energy Prices and Cost report and the State aid regime for Energy and Environment
Mrs MechthildWorsdorfer, Director of DG ENER, introduced the this topic with a presentation summarizing the work undergoing at the Commission services in the preparation of the second report on energy cost and prices that will be published at the end of the year (2016).
The presentation shown the main trends of costs and prices in the EU Member States compared with those in other areas of the word, with particular focus to USA, Japan, Russia and China. The comparison of data related to the EU countries put in evidence the very wide difference among them due to different taxation policies, different cost of the infrastructure.
Gap between energy prices in the EU and the competing other countries has been reduced in the last years due to the reduction of the oil price and of the energy demand.
Mrs Celine Gauer, Director of DG COMP, spoke about the state aids regime and in particular the possibility of compensation of the cost passed to industry by the energy producers and all the issues related to the ETS scheme related to the free allocation of emission rights to the sector at risk of carbon leakage and delocalization.
A particular attention has been dedicated to the burden of incentives to renewable on Energy prices for industry and citizens.
Many interventions in the debate followed to the presentation. Representatives of the main EU EIIs sectors and industriAll put forward their problems and proposals. Also representatives of Member States intervened in the debate illustrating their national policies and their proposals.
2 – Possible changes in the methodology to establish dumping in trade defense investigation concerning the People’s Republic of China.
Fabrice D’Aprile, Deputy Head of Unit of DG Trade, introduced the item mainly related to the consequences of the recognition of the MES to China.
He described the work undergoing at the EC that would lead to a decision in July. He illustrated the procedure adopted by the Commission and the other EU institutions including the consultation and the impact study about the consequences on the main EU industrial sectors.
He also described the various possible options and the consequences on the future Trade Defense Instruments (TDIs). He also said the to keep the actual TDIs defense levels a change in the EU legislation is needed.
Many industry representatives and the industriAll General Secretary intervened in the discussion after the presentation. The most part of the declared their opposition to the recognition of MES to China while CEFI, the representative of the EU chemical industry, invited to consider also the possible effect of retaliations of China on the EU economy.
The meeting was concluded by the Commissioner ElzbietaBienkowska that summarized the main points emerged in the meeting and recalled the main results and the ongoing activity of the EC on the item discussed in the meeting.
The CCMI activities on the MES to China and the EC Communication on the steel industry are fully in line with the points raised in debate of this meeting.
An official report of the meeting will be edited and diffused by the Commission’s services.
Enrico Gibellieri
Brussels, 20 June 2016
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