Cogeneration: Conciliation narrowly avoided

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Background:

The Energy Group of the Council on 10 December 2003 backed the compromise proposal tabled by the Italian Presidency on the Cogeneration Directive. Subsequently, the Parliament's Committee for Industry and Energy in an extraordinary session on 15 December voted to accept the minor amendments made to the text and to ratify the agreement between the Parliament and the Council.

The Committee had initially decided to table 59 amendments to the common position, concerning the main sticking points such as harmonised definitions, support for small generation plants, binding EU and national targets and timetables, and a uniform way of calculating and categorising cogeneration (see

EurActiv 5 December 2003). If the EP had insisted on these changes, the dossier would have had to go to conciliation. This could now be avoided.

The EP will vote on its new report, which was drafted by Norbert Glante (PSE, Germany), in its plenary session on 18 December. The compromise amendments will then have to be officially adopted by the Council, probably (as an 'A point') at a Council meeting before the end of 2003.