LeX-Ray

Council Directive 68/414/EEC of 20 December 1968 imposing an obligation on Member States of the EEC to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products ( 3 ) has been substantially amended several times ( 4 ) . In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Directive should be codified.

Imported crude oil and petroleum products are of importance in providing the Community with supplies of energy. Any difficulty, even temporary, having the effect of reducing supplies of such products imported from third States, or significantly increasing the price thereof on international markets, could cause serious disturbances in the economic activity of the Community. The Community must therefore be in a position to offset or at least to diminish any harmful effects in such a case.

A crisis in obtaining supplies could occur unexpectedly and it is therefore essential to establish forthwith the necessary means to make good a possible shortage.

To this end, it is necessary to increase the security of supply for crude oil and petroleum products in Member States by establishing and maintaining minimum stocks of the most important petroleum products.

It is necessary that the organisational arrangements for oil stocks do not prejudice the smooth running of the internal market.

In Directive 73/238/EEC ( 5 ) the Council decided upon appropriate measures — including drawing on oil stocks — to be taken in the event of difficulties in the supply of crude oil and petroleum products to the Community; Member States have undertaken similar obligations in the Agreement on an ‘International Energy Programme’.

It is necessary that stocks be at the disposal of Member States should difficulties in oil supply arise. Member States should possess the powers and the capacity to control the use of stocks so that they can be made available promptly for the benefit of the areas which most need oil supplies.

Organisational arrangements for the maintenance of stocks should ensure the stocks' availability and their accessibility to the consumer.

It is appropriate that organisational arrangements for the maintenance of stocks are transparent, ensuring a fair and non-discriminatory sharing of the burden of the stock-holding obligation. Therefore, information relating to the cost of holding oil stocks may be made available by Member States to interested parties.

In order to organise the maintenance of stocks, Member States may have recourse to a system based on a stockholding body or entity which will hold all, or part, of the stocks making up their stock-holding obligation. The balance, if any, should be maintained by refiners and other market operators. Partnership between the Government and the industry is essential to operate efficient and reliable stock-holding mechanisms.

Indigenous production contributes in itself to security of supply. The oil market evolution can justify an appropriate derogation from the obligation to maintain oil stocks for Member States with indigenous oil production. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, Member States may exempt undertakings from the obligation to maintain stocks in respect of an amount not exceeding the quantity of products which those undertakings manufacture from indigenously produced crude oil.

It is appropriate to adopt approaches which are already followed by the Community and the Member States within their international obligations and agreements. Owing to changes in the pattern of oil consumption, international aviation bunkers have become an important component of this consumption.

There is a need to adapt and simplify the Community statistical reporting mechanism concerning oil stocks.

Oil stocks can, in principle, be held anywhere in the Community and, therefore, it is appropriate to facilitate the establishment of stocks outside national territory. It is necessary that decisions for holding stocks outside national territory be taken by the Government of the Member State concerned according to its needs and supply security considerations. In the case of stocks held at the disposal of another undertaking, or body/entity, more detailed rules are needed to guarantee their availability and accessibility in the event of oil supply difficulties.

It is desirable, in order to ensure the smooth running of the internal market, to promote the use of agreements between Member States concerning minimum stockholding in order to further the use of storage facilities in other Member States. It is for the Member States concerned to take the decision to conclude such agreements.

It is appropriate to reinforce the administrative supervision of stocks and establish efficient mechanisms for the control and verification of stocks. A regime of sanctions is necessary to impose such a control.

The Council should be regularly informed on the state of the security stocks in the Community.

Since the objective of the action to be taken, namely the maintenance of a high level of security in the supply of crude oil within the Community, by means of reliable and transparent arrangements based on solidarity between Member States, while complying with the rules of the internal market and the competition rules, may be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

This Directive should be without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time-limits for transposition into national law of the Directives set out in Annex I, Part B,