Även på detta område stödde parlamentet den reformvänliga linje som drivits av Gunnar Hökmark och som tidigare vunnit framgång i frågan om elmarknaden. I samband med voteringen höll Gunnar Hökmark ett anförande i plenum som bland annat berörde de särskilda förhållanden som utmärker just gasen som energikälla, där den i högre utsträckning är beroende av distributörerna. Denna omständighet gör det också särskilt viktigt att gasleverantörer från tredje land respekterar de europeiska spelreglerna. Hökmark avslutade med en uppmaning om att de fortsatta förhandlingarna nu måste sätta igång direkt för att nå en bra slutgiltig lösning så snabbt som möjligt.
Läs anförandet i sin helhet nedan:
Gunnar Hökmark (PPE-DE). Mr. President, whatever we talk about, whether environmental or security issues, climate change or European competitiveness, the energy markets and how they function in the future are crucial. This also applies to the discussion about the next phase of our legislation regarding carbon dioxide emissions: how to share the burdens and how to develop a scheme of European emissions trading.
That is why I would like to turn to the presidency and stress that, when we have debated here today and voted tomorrow on the second part of the energy package, it is of the utmost importance that the presidency start the discussions between Parliament and Council. There must be no delays, because we need to have these markets functioning with a new legislation in place. We can ask ourselves whether the European energy markets are functioning as well as they should. The answer is very easy: they are not.
There is a difference between the electricity market and the gas market. Electricity is dependent on a number of different sources of energy and different producers, while gas tends to be more dependent on distributors. That is why the difference in the legislation which we are talking about namely that we have full ownership unbundling on electricity and this scheme that the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy decided on in Parliament is acceptable. But what is important is to ensure that this is discussed and negotiated as soon as possible. It is important to make sure that the legislation on gas allows for a separation between production and distribution that also gives real strength to the third country clause of the energy package.
Once again I would like to underline to the presidency that negotiations should start as soon as possible. Do not delay until October. We need to start now.