Energy: stocks of crude oil and petroleum products

PURPOSE : repealing Council Directives 68/414/EEC and 98/93/EC imposing an obligation on Member States of the EEC to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products, and Council Directive 73/238/EEC on measures to mitigate the effects of difficulties in the supply of crude oil and petroleum products. CONTENT : the Commission has put forward a proposal for a new Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the alignment of measures with regard to security of supply for petroleum products (refer to procedure reference COD/2002/0219). More specifically, this proposal for a Directive provides for Member States' provisions on oil stocks and crisis measures to be more closely aligned with each other, and for coordinated action between the Member States in the event of a supply crisis. The abovementioned proposal for a Directive is in two parts: - the first part defines the stockholding obligations and the criteria with which the security stock systems must comply; - the second part covers aspects relating to the adoption of measures in a crisis situation, more especially the institutional mechanism for ensuring a coordinated response from the Member States in the event of a crisis. In this situation, existing legislation on this subject is no longer relevant. The aim of this proposal for a Directive is therefore to repeal some of the texts concerned.�