BFBEnergyPaper

should be considered: were the UK to opt out of the Renewable target today it would beable to reduce energy bills for EIIs by up to 7 per cent. 169As part of this process the Government should also review the current EU ETS programand investigate the possibility of introducing a more flexible regime. It should also considerwhether both industry and the environment would benefit from the UK opting out of thescheme entirely. Friends of the Earth had argued for more action at a national level and for acarbon tax to be introduced to replace the EU ETS. 170 Open Europe has also suggested thatthe UK should seek to renegotiate the existing renewable energy target, with the objectiveof abandoning it entirely or at least downgrading its ambition. 171In addition to reassessing current EU laws, there also needs to be new safeguards for theUK and other member states against future dangerous proposals. At the moment the UKhas very little influence over the formation of EU law. While some have claimed the UK isinfluential, this is usually based on anecdotal accounts or a handful of examples. The UKcurrently has no veto over energy policy and its ability to alter legislation that is determinedby Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) has been seriously disputed by Business for Britain inresearch documents. 172 In addition the UK’s voting power remains very small; it currently hasonly 8 per cent votes in the Council of Ministers and 9.5 per cent of votes in the EuropeanParliament; the two bodies which determine EU law. 173 The UK may be one of the larger EUmembers, but this does not give it a whip hand, something which is demonstrated by thefact that the UK has not managed to block any proposal which it opposed being approvedby the Council of Ministers. 174Any renegotiation needs to address the fundamental problems that exist with the currentterms of Britain’s EU membership. The primacy of European law and the fact that the UK isobliged by Treaty to obey existing rules means that the Government is forced to comply withEU regulations and directives, regardless of the evidence that is harming Britain’s industries.In the words of the think tank Open Europe, the UK is currently “locked” into badly designedEU energy policies. 175 The UK along with the other member states need a much greater sayover the laws it is currently forced to comply with and a much greater ability to block new,dangerous proposals.169 Figures taken from DECC breakdown of impact of regulation on EII Energy bills for 2013 using highest cost estimates. TheBritish government has long made its opposition to the RO well known and were the EU’s Renewable Target abolishedit is unlikely to be replaced with a British equivalent today. For more information see DECC, Estimated impacts of energyand climate change policies, p.86, March 2013, found at 170 Friends of the Earth Europe, The EU Emissions Trading System: failing to deliver, found at 171 Open Europe, Open Europe submissions to the UK Government’s Balance of Competences Review: Environment and ClimateChange synopsis, August 2013, found at 172 Upcoming changes to the voting weights look set to give the Eurozone a permanent majority. For more information pleasesee Business for Britain, Measuring Britain’s Influence in the Council of Ministers, Briefing Note 3, found at 173 Due to the lack of information it is not possible to calculate or quantify the ‘informal’ influence that Britain has behind closeddoors (e.g. in preventing proposals from even being presented to the Council) however considering the poor record of theUK when an actual vote takes place and comments by officials on the willingness of the UK to support proposals the UKdisagrees with, it would be fair to say that this particular area of influence is far from satisfactory.174 Business for Britain, Measuring Britain’s Influence, found at 175 Open Europe, The EU Climate Action and Renewable Energy Package: Are we about to be locked into the wrong policy?, found at53