EUParliament No1 Group's Head Daul to EuroFora +Commissioner Oettinger/EU-CHINA group on SOLAR issue

*Strasbourg/EU Parliament/Angelo Marcopolo/20-21-22 May 2013/- The President of EU Parliament's biggest Group, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, French MEP Joseph Daul, speaking to "EuroFora" on the current controversy about EU - China relations on Solar panels, pleaded calmly in favor of a Negotiated Solution, while also expressing his Trust to EU's Higher Technology potential, which allows to leave comparatively Lower Tech. parts of the Solar Network to other Countries, as he observed just after EU Commissioner on Energy, Gunter Oettinger from Germany, strongly supported the idea for Europe to focus rather on High-Tech. parts of Solar Energy, leaving for China a.o. Countries, components as that of Solar Panels, etc.,

The issue is of "Hot" Topical importance, since EU Commission has notoriously threatened to impose a 47% Tax on imports of Solar Panels from China, claiming that they resulted from Dumping becauise of State subsidies, while China reportedly replied, according to mainstream Medias, that, in fact, this disagreement was largely due to EU Countries' recent Financial Restrictions on State Aids to Renewable Energy sources, and that an eventual Tax would make Solar Energy more Expensive inside Europe itself, proposing to the EU to focuse on Science and to cooperate with Beijing into developing High-Tech programs on Photovoltaics which would become very Competitive Worldwide, threatening, on the contrary, to retaliate by imposing eqivalent Taxes to several EU Exports towards China, while lodging also a complaint to the WTO .

With an EU Commission decision reportedly looming at the beginning of Next Month (June 2013) in Brussels, where Energy issues were discussed this Wednesday, May 22, 2013, during an informal EU Summit of Heads of State/Government before final Political Decisions due to be taken by the official, December 2013 EU Summit, the controversy appeared even more Topical, while the Timing of EU -China Negotiations on Investments and Free Trade were also debated, at the same time, inside EU Parliament's Delegation for EU-China relations (See Infra).

 - "In our (EU's) relations with China, we have nothing to be ashamed of", particularly since "the situation of our (European) HigherTechnologies are still at he cutting edge.", said to "EuroFora" from the outset, the President of EU Parliament's biggest Group, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, French MEP Joseph Daul.

- "As for the Solar Energy, I reply as Germans also do : Solar should be located there where the Sun is !", he added, apparently considering a possibility to let comparatively Lower Tech. parts of the Solar network to EU's Partner Countries.

- Meanwhile,  EU - China "Negotiations" should  find an adequate Solution about the current controversy on supposed, more or less important, Distortions of Competition, Daul added, pointing mainly at Diplomats at this stage.

- Because, at any case, risk a Trade War, is neither ours (EU's), "nor China's interest", the experienced, Top EuroPolitician advised with calm.

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+ Vice-President of EU Parliament's International Trade Committee, "Green" MEP Jadot to "EuroFora" ; 

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However, Daul's position didn't seem shared by other MEPs, such as, f.ex., "Green" French MEP Yannick Jadot, who claimed, during a Press Conference at EU Parliament on EU - USA Free Trade Agreement Negotiations, togeher with Danish "Green" MEP Helga Trupel, that EU Commission's supposedly pro-Trade stance should be changed in order to defend EU producers in the case of the Solar Panels' controversy with China.

But Jadot apparently found it difficult to explain why, EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht, that he had just accused to be too much in favor of "Free Trade" concerning EU - USA negotiations, could, at the same time, appear so strict vis a vis China that he didn't hesitate to propose a 47% so-called "ANti-Dumping" levy on its Solar Panels' imports to Europe, as "EuroFora" observed in a Critical Question thet we raised during his Press Conference at EU Parliament. Indeed, "Green" MEP Jadot's claim in reply to "EuroFora", (that his Group would have had to exert enough "pressure" to convince de Gucht on China), didn't seem, at first sight, credible enough for a vice-President of EU Parliament's Committee on International Trade...

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+ RESOLUTION on R.E.S. :
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+ Meanwhile, in a Resolution on Renewable Energy Sources (RES), including Solar, adopted by EU Parliament's plenary this week in Strasbourg, on Tuesday 21 May,  MEPs certainly call to strongly oppose any eventual "Dumping" from Foreign Countries, but significantly abstain from ever naming China or the Solar Panels issue, which is not even mentioned.

Moreover, this topical Resolution on RES add, immediately after that point, also an crystal-clear appeal for the EU to better focus on stimulating High Tech. Scientific and Technological Reearch and Development of "smart" New products, also in International Cooperation, in order to boost mainly a High-Tech. exports oriented Trade policy, (i.e. almost as China invited recently the EU to agree in a bilateral Trade and Investment Deal for a mutually beneficial compromise on Solar Energy, which still remains to be negotiated and agreed).

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EU Enegry Commissioner OETTINGER : EU should focus on High-Tech Solar !
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Things became even more crystal-clear thanks to a strong argumentation by EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger, during a "Hot" Debate in EU Parliament's Plenary, on Renewable Energy Sources, Monday evening, (May 20) :

- "Renewable Enegries", including Solar, "need Support, if they want to become competitive in the market, if they should face Compettion", particularly since "the Costs" become "Degressive not at the Beginning, but on the End", he stressed from the outset.

- However, "if we (EU) fromulate these Goals, f.ex.  in terms of active (EU) Support", then we'll "have to "turn down some among them", Oettinger warned MEPs. "This fits well with the (current) issue about China" :

-   "Let's be clear : This Anti-Dumping process against China, i.e. against measures that China took against Silicon Production in Europe, will result into harming the (EU) Photovoltaic Industry, at the end. Because, with the Anti-Dumping, if it obliged the Dumping to Stop, then, Full Costs will exert Pressure, and Prices will grow Higher", he denounced.

=>  In consequence, even if " the Anti-Dumping procedure might eventually help the EU Photovoltaic Plates Industry, nevertheless, it won't help at all the European Energy prices", because "the trend on Energy won't be to become Cheaper, but, on the contrary, more Expensive", he pointed out.

And this can be a big problem, particularly considering also the fact that, as he observed at another occasion this week in Strasbourg, in certain areas, Work Costs have become less than Energy Costs..

-  Thar's why, even if "there is a clear position of the (EU) Commission", and, in this regard, "a procedure has begun", so that "I am part of that procedure against China", "without defending any kind of so-called "German position", (as he said vis a vis Berlin Government's well known Hesitation against a harsh Anti-Dumping reaction towards Beijing, reportedly also because of possible Retaliations against EU Exports to China, f.ex. on Steel, etc), nevertheless, I am worried about that, Oettinger noted :

 - "My Concern is the following : Producing PhotoVoltaic Plates is Low-Tech. And  I don't believe that we could do that in Europe without adding also Dumping, given our (EU's) Environmental requirements (that I support), and our Work Costs", f.ex. "if the Work Costs are 1/10 (one tenth) of that in China, this will make a big Difference" at any case.

=> In consequence, "I don't believe that PhotoVoltaic Plates can remain a task to be performed in Europe, for the Long term", the EU Energy Commissioner concluded.

- "Modules yes, raw Materials yes, High-Tech yes, Software yes. But not the production of Solar Plates. Tool Machines yes, but not this process", Oettinger clearly distinguished.

- Because "it's as it happened with Childrens' Toys :  Toys are now produced in China, and exported towards us (EU), while, on the contrary, the necessary Tools come from Europe", he reminded. "This process will occur also in the area of Solar Plates certainly in a permanent way", he predicted.

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+ EU-China Delegation meeting points at Investments + Free Trade :

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Topically, it's also during this same week's May 2013 EU Parliament's Plenary session in Strasbourg, that its EU - China Delegation hold a meeting on Wednesday Noon, May 22, consecrated on discussing "Investment" policies together with Experts of EU's External Service, refering also to the outcome and new perspectives after the recent, 1st visit of EU High Representative on Foreign Policy, EU Commission's vice-President, Baroness Kahy Ashton, to meet the New Chinese Government at Beijing, at the end of April.

After hearing and discussing an overall presentation on EU Investments in China and the Chinese Investments in Europe, as "a path to an EU/China Investment Agreement", several MEPs were interested, inter alia, also into asking for more "Transparency", from the EU Council and Commission's side, while others, (including mainly the experienced Head of the German Governing party of ChristianDemocrats/CDU, Werner Langen, also President of EU Parliament's Committee for South Asoa/ASEAN, as he confirmed to "EuroFora"), launched a call also for EU - China Free TRADE Agreement negotiations to start asap, in parallel. Something that EU Commission's Experts initially found rather as a "much Longer prospect", as one of them estimated, but "didn't rule it out"  at all, particularly if there is an adequate Political Will by interested Governments inside EU Council.

However, the Expert of EEAS (headed by British Baroness Ashton) thought that "China has still to digest its WTO Accession";, which "is going Well", "but" has yet to be finalized, while, inside EU Council, all EU Member States don't seem to agree (on the Timing) : - "Some would like to Start, but others don't", arguying that EU shouldn't do aùù at the same time : i.e. negotiate with the USA and China on FTA, prefering "a sequence", even if this was rather an "open" political question to be decided.

Meanwhile, Negotiations for an EU - China Investment Agreement are due to start this Autumn 2013, said to "EuroFora" the vice-President of the EU Delegation, MEP Victor Bostinaru, from the Governing SD. party in Romania, who was chairing that meeting, while also anouncing that, next week in Brussels, EU Parliament would hold a Hearing with Beijing's International Relations' Institute, including on Trade and Investment issues, etc., which could also extend, at least partly, on the parallel EU - USA Free Trade Agreement Negotiations, due to start asap, (according to an idea earlier expressed by French Minister for Trade, Nicole Bricq, in reply to an "EuroFora"'s question : Comp. relevant NewsReport, already sent earlier as "DraftNews" to "EuroFora"s Subscribers/Donors).

- "We (MEPs) need to have some good and Solid Arguments to use vis a vis EU Citizens and Businesses when EU - China Negotiations for an Agreement on reciprocal Investments will soon start", vice-President Bostinaru added to "EuroFora", speaking of that forthcoming meeting with the Chinese International Relations Institute, (similar but not identical to Shangai's famous International studies University), obviously ppointing at the need for a Good, serious  and productive EU - China overall Debate in the wider context of the current run up to the forthcoming EU Parliament's Elections of May 2014.

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