Proposal for a Council Decision authorising France to apply reduced levels of taxation to petrol and gas oil used as motor fuels in accordance with Article 19 of Directive 2003/96/EC

Taxation of energy products and electricity in the EU is governed by Council Directive 2003/96/EC (the "Energy Taxation Directive").

Pursuant to Article 19(1) of the Directive, in addition to the provisions foreseen in particular in its Articles 5, 15 and 17, the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, may authorise any Member State to introduce further exemptions or reductions in the level of taxation for specific policy considerations.

The objective of this proposal is to allow France to continue to apply, within defined limits, differentiated levels of taxation to unleaded petrol and gas oil, with the exclusion of commercially used gas oil. This differentiation is meant to reflect the decentralisation of certain specific powers previously exercised by central government.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)22: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:022:FIN

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