Of the European Communities

ISSN 0378-3693 Bulletin· OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES Commission . ' :~. /, . : . ' . ' . -~ No 3. 1980 Volume 13 The Bulletin of the European Communities reports on the activities of the Commission and the other Community institutions. lt is edited by the Secretariat-General of the Commission (rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Brussels) and published eleven times a year (one issue covers July and August) in the official Community languages and Spanish. Reproduction is .authorized provided the source is acknowledged. The following reference system is used: the first digit indicates the part number, the second digit the chapter number and the subsequent digit or digits the point number. Citations should therefore read as follows: Bull. EC 1-1979, point 1.1.3 or 2.2.36. Supplements to the Bulletin are published in a separate series at irregular intervals. They contain official Commission material (e.g. communications to the Council, programmes, reports and proposals). The Supplements do not appear in Spanish. Printed in Belgium BULLETIN OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES European Coal and Steel Community European Economic Community European Atomic Energy Community Commission of the European Communities Secretariat-General Brussels No 3 1980 Sent to press in April 1980. Volume 13 contents SPECIAL PART ONE FEATURES 1. Energy: Community initiative - Commission statement to the European Council . 7 2. Social policy: present situation and prospects - Political and general introduction to the 1979 Social Report . 12 3. JRC: 1980-83 programme adopted by the Council 14 4. Generalized tariff preferences: 1980 onwards - Commission guidelines . 18 5. 1979 Competition Report 20 ACTIVITIES PART TWO IN MARCH 1980 1. Building the Community . 24 - Economic and monetary policy 24 - Internal market and industrial affairs 27 - Customs union . 30 - Competition . 31 - Financial institutions and taxation .33 - Employment and social policy 35 - Regional policy . 37 - Environment and consumers 37 - Agriculture 39 -Fisheries 45 -Transport 47 -Energy 48 - Research and development, science and education 50 2. Enlargement and external relations . 55 - Enlargement and bilateral relations with applicant countries 55 - Commercial policy . 58 - Development . 58 - International organizations and conferences 62 - Industrialized countries 65 - Mediterranean countries 66 - Developing countries 67 - State-trading countries 69 - Diplomatic relations . 70 - European political cooperation 70 3. Institutional and political matters . 73 - Institutional developments- European policy 73 - Institutions and organs of the Communities 74 • Parliament 74 • Council . 83 • Commission . 85 • Court of Justice 66 • Economic and Social Committee 93 • ECSC Consultative Committee 94 • European Investment Bank 96 - Financing Community activities 98 PART THREE DOCUMENTATION 1 . Units of account . 102 2. Additional references in the Official Journal 105 3. Infringement procedures 109 4. Convergence and budgetary questions 110 Publications of the European Communities Supplements 1980 ~b\~U ©~~ SPECIAL FEATURES Standardized abbreviations for the designation of certain monetary units In the different languages of the Community: BFR Belgische frank/Franc beige LFR Franc luxembourgeois DKR Dansk krone FF Franc fra~is DM Deutsche Mark LIT Ura italiana HFL Nederlandse gulden (Hollandse florijn) UKL Pound sterling IRL Irish pound USD United States dollar 1. Energy: Community initiative Energy: Community initiative Commission statement 1.1.2. The full text of the communication to the European Council entitled 'Energy policy' is given below: 1.1.1. The increasing extent of energy prob lems, the need for a Community strategy to Introduction deal with them and the definition of possible guidelines for this strategy: these are the 1. The underlying problem of energy supply in grounds for issuing an important Commis our society has been stated many times in the last sion communication-anticipating the next seven years; but our failure so far to cope with it European Council-on the general outlines of makes it worth stating again. a Community initiative in this field. 2. The economies of the industrial world were Some aspects of this statement, made on 20 built on the availability of cheap energy derived March, are defined in greater detail in three principally from coal in the 19th century, and separate documents transmitted to the Coun from . gas and above all oil in the 20th. Coal cil with it that deal respectively with the reserves are still substantial. But oil is already a economic aspects of a Community initiative scarce resource, as the successive rises in its price on energy; the fiscal instruments available for since 1973 well demonstrate. It will become scarcer still over the next 30 years and beyond. raising Community revenues from energy; But even if supply will soon flatten out and energy price and tax harmonization in the decline, the momentum of demand, unless cor Community. rected, will continue to increase. If our economies are to continue in their present form, let alone The Commission considers that there is a big resume their growth, they will require major reor difference between what has been done, and ganization whereby dependence on oil is drasti what still has to be done to work out an cally reduced, other sources of energy are effective energy policy. It also thinks that the developed to take an increasing place, and the problems to be solved mainly arise from the price of energy in its various forms finds its level conditions in which energy resources are between supply and demand. developed and exploited, and which vary considerably from one country to another. 3. The Member States of the European Com This is because there are differences in munity are particularly vulnerable. At present oil national tax schemes, standards and regula provides 55% of their energy requirements: 85% of oil consumed comes from abroad; and 90% of tions, particularly in the field of environment. imported oil comes from the OPEC countries, Although there has been progress in respect which control 70% of world reserves and 50% of of nuclear energy, further efforts must be production outside the Soviet Union and Eastern made to define consistent environmental and Europe. Since 1973 the OPEC countries have safety standards for nuclear power stations. learnt that they can cut production while main taining or increasing revenues. In addition inter The Commission's communication em ruption of supply for political or other reasons is a phasizes the need now to contemplate new continuous hazard. Obviously this has a major activities in two fields: policy with regard to and direct effect on the ability of governments to promote growth, control inflation, and reduce energy prices and taxation, and increasing unemployment. The energy price increases of the investments in the energy sector. The Com last six months will involve an extra payment of mission emphasizes these points both in its around USD 50 000 million in foreign exchange general review and in its three 'Annexes'. by the Community in 1980. Bull. EC 3-1980 7 Energy: Community initiative Energy: Community initiative 4. The impending crisis passed virtually unob for energy saving, reduction of dependence on oil, served until 1973. Since then the policies followed and development of alternative sources. Only by the Member States individually and by the some of these are likely to be met. For example Community as a whole have been fragmentary in only about 70 gigawatts of nuclear capacity will effect, reflecting the different situation of each be installed by 1985 compared with the objective country within the Community. The price of of 160 gigawatts agreed in 1974, and both con energy still varies widely and sometimes inexplic sumption and production of coal have actually fal ably both as between fuels and between Member len. The target for the reduction of oil consump States. In spite of large nominal price increases tion in 1979 was not met, and there may be diffi since 1973, the real price to the consumer has not culty in meeting the oil import target set for 1985. kept up, and in some cases has actually fallen. Next the Community has helped in the financing of new coal and nuclear generating plant and in energy projects generally. It has promoted har 5. The case for establishing common Community monization of standards throughout the Commun policies is strong. When the Coal and Steel Com ity to help in energy saving. It has set up crisis munity, and later the European Economic Com management mechanisms. It has extended its munity and Euratom, were set up, the need for an research and development programmes into alter energy policy as such was not foreseen. At that native sources, and given financial aid to demon time coal occupied a more important place than it stration schemes for energy saving techniques and now does, and nuclear energy seemed the main exploitation of new sources. Finally it has taken energy source of the future. Thus although powers steps to improve its knowledge of the oil market in respect of coal and nuclear energy were attri with a view to improving stability, above all in buted to the Community, no specific power was spot transactions. attributed in respect of energy as a whole. Nev ertheless achievement of the political, economic and social objectives of the Community as defined 8. But the gap between what has been done and in the Treaties are increasingly conditioned by the what needs to be done to establish an effective supply of energy, and there could scarcely be a Community energy policy remains wide. Even if true common market without common policies in Member States were to fulfil their existing energy the field of energy. The Commission has prepared programmes for the next 10 years and even if the a more detailed note for the Council about the rate of economic growth were as low as we fear it general economic implications. may be, additional imports of oil of between 50 million and 100 million tonnes might still be 6.

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