Jacques Delors has already said that Europe's response to the energy challenge must, in his view, be to set up a European energy community. This week, he set out the reasons for and the key points of his position in his introduction to a report published by independent think tank Notre Europe (see our newsletter N° 10112). Once again he casts his gaze forward and prepares for the future, without losing sight of reality and the time that will be needed. We have just seen how many years it took for the EU to recognise that the “economic coordination” section of the Economic and Monetary Union had to be tightened up, something he had been calling for since the birth of the euro. Will the energy plan be confronted with similar reticence and face similar delays? For the moment, what is important is that it is there and that people are beginning to speak about it.
Gradual achievement among the willing. Jacques Delors is sufficiently realistic to know that the final aim will take time, though the problems that have to be resolved are urgent. His Call for a European Energy Community acknowledges that several options are open to Europe. “The most radical, but also the most promising, would be to create a European Energy Community with its own rules and methods specific to the energy field.” He adds, however, “not all EU states may be ready to embark upon this route just yet”. The way he advocates is, then, once again, the differentiated approach, which “has been used, in the past, to make major strides in the European project, including the Schengen area and the single currency”. Europe cannot afford to wait indefinitely. “Efforts to build a coherent and effective common policy must get under way now. This can be done by developing some elements of the policy without delay”, preferably within the framework of “enhanced cooperation” as defined by Article 20 of the Lisbon Treaty. For those states which wish to move forward on this, Jacques Delors sets out three priorities: joint research and development projects on alternative energies; genuine Europe-wide energy networks,; and setting up oil and gas purchasing groups to facilitate procurement from foreign suppliers. Such initiatives, which may appear technical and limited in scope, would bring about “decisive changes”.
The bases of the new Community. The general project remains, in Jacques Delors' opinion, essential. He notes that energy was chosen 60 years ago as one of the two key sectors paving the way for a Community that would “replace conflict with cooperation”. Today, the common rules governing this sector (at the time, coal) no longer exist: “Should we not work to reframe them in a manner commensurate with the challenges Europe faces?” For the people of Europe, “rhetoric and declarations with no follow-through will not suffice”. Europe needs a common energy policy which guarantees access to energy at reasonable and stable prices, maintains the competitiveness of its industry and promotes sustainable development: “national solutions adopted by member states large and small have proven inadequate to the task and have increased the risk of diverging and even conflicting responses to common challenges. To overcome the many stumbling blocks and doubts about the ability, as things now stand, of the European Union and its member states to face these challenges together, a new approach aimed at deeper integration and solidarity is required”. Mr Delors suggests that the “dramatic increase in regulatory activity” with regard to the single energy market and to tackle environmental issues is not enough. Market liberalisation must be built on a sufficiently strong, revised, Europe-wide energy network; price mechanisms must be able to correct the market; new, less polluting technologies and renewable energies require substantial investment. For the new community which he is advocating, all this means “independent and autonomous financial resources”. Furthermore, Europe “must present a single interface in its relations with its external partners”. Thus, an end must be brought to the artificial division between the economic and political dimensions.
A starting point. Mr Delors is aware that “a common energy policy will clearly not be brought about overnight, and it will take time to carry out the full debate that is needed”. The report published by Notre Europe is a starting point. It was discussed in the steering committee and received input from Pascal Lamy, Jerzy Buzek, Eneko Landaburu, Philippe de Schoutheete and others. These figures do not necessarily endorse all the analyses and proposals: the report's three authors, Marc van der Woude, Leigh Hancher and Sami Andoura, accept full responsibility for the content.
(F.R./transl.rt)