Lhe two pieces of legislation on purchasing power received the green light on Friday, August 12 from the Constitutional Council, which however expressed reservations, in particular on the abolition of the audiovisual license fee. The Constitutional Council had been seized by more than 120 deputies and senators from the left. The Wise Men therefore validated these two texts with reservations, notably framing in “unpublished” terms certain provisions of the energy part. “Interpretive reservations” have been issued on the abolition of the audiovisual license fee.
Regarding the draft law on emergency measures for the protection of purchasing power, the Elders expressed “unprecedented” reservations on the commissioning of an LNG terminal off Le Havre and on the increase in the ceiling of greenhouse gas emissions from certain facilities producing electricity from fossil fuels.
READ ALSOBHL – Royalty is the Republic
For the Constitutional Council, these provisions are “likely to harm the environment”. And “unless the Environmental Charter is ignored, these provisions can only apply in the event of a serious threat to the security of gas supply” and “threat to the security of electricity supply of all or part of the national territory”, indicates the Council.
Focus on the environment
The Sages add that “the preservation of the environment must be sought in the same way as the other fundamental interests of the nation”, a “reservation of interpretation formulated in new terms”, they specify in a press release. Regarding the revival of power plants using fossil fuels, the Council has set “an obligation to offset greenhouse gas emissions”. The Rebellious and environmental deputies, at the origin of the appeal, considered that these provisions violated the Charter of the environment of 2004, which is part of the preamble of the Constitution.
Concerning the amending finance bill, the second part of the purchasing power bill, the Constitutional Council, seized by the Nupes intergroup and the socialist senators, judged that the abolition of the planned audiovisual license fee was “likely to affect the guarantee of the resources of the public audiovisual sector, which constitutes an element of its independence”. The Wise Men enjoined the government to “fix the amount of these receipts so that the companies and the public audiovisual establishment are able to exercise the public service missions”.
READ ALSOLet’s abolish public broadcasting!
The deputies of Nupes had judged, in their appeal, that the alternative financing mechanism proposed (allocation of part of the VAT) “does not make it possible to ensure the security of the financing of audiovisual establishments”. On the other hand, the appeals on the monetization of the RTT and the Arenh ceiling were rejected.