Addressing the French National Assembly he said "Europe should in all urgency adopt a European energy policy" and at the same time appealed for greater French-German cooperation in nuclear matters.

Sarkozy also pressed for a return to energy-saving measures, telling MPs: "We thought that because oil was cheap we could spend it without counting."

He said a commission charged with assessing the level of surplus tax receipts generated through the sharp rise in oil prices this year would convene in mid-November.

The panel was originally scheduled to meet in mid-December. Its findings will be followed by a cut in taxes on oil from January 1, Sarkozy had announced earlier.

He called on fellow eurozone nations to join France in making a commitment to pass on the surplus revenue to consumers.

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