Brussels, 01/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - Speaking before the “industry, energy and research” committee of the European Parliament on Monday 12 July, the Belgian energy minister Paul Magnette confirmed the energy policy priorities announced by the Belgian Presidency before it took up its duties on 1 July (EUROPE 10172). The action plan 2011-2020 for the energy policy for Europe, investment in infrastructure, energy efficiency and the internal energy market are four key dossiers stressed by the Socialist minister, who intends to make the process of liberalisation of the internal market fairer to consumers.
Firstly, the Belgian Presidency will continue its preparatory talks for the new 2011-2020 action plan for the energy policy for Europe, to be adopted by the European Council in spring 2011. It will also start the debate on the decarbonisation strategy of the EU between now and 2050.
The Belgian Presidency also hopes to breathe new life into the dossier on investment in infrastructure. It hopes to make a priority of the plank of the European relaunch plan of 2008, amongst other things by dealing with the question of allocating unspent resources (€114 million) from the envelope of €3.98 billion reserved for energy projects in the field of electricity, gas, wind power and carbon capture and storage (EUROPE 10037 and 10091), the idea being to channel these resources into projects dedicated to energy efficiency and renewables. The Presidency will work with rapporteur Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D, Belgium) for an agreement in the autumn. Magnette is also planning a debate on the legislative changes needed to promote investments at the informal Energy Council to be held in Brussels on 6 and 7 September. Lastly, the Presidency also intends to give impetus to the initiative on the plan to develop networks for future offshore wind farms in the North Sea. It anticipates that this commitment taken by nine member states (Germany, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Sweden), plus Norway, will be formalised on the sidelines of the Energy Council of 2 December, together with a cooperation agreement between the same ten countries, the national regulators and the national transmission system operators.
The Belgian Presidency also hopes to make progress on energy efficiency. The new action plan of the European Commission, anticipated for October 2009, which was supposed to replace the 2006 plan, is unlikely to see the light of day before early 2011. On Monday, Magnette nonetheless declined to give his opinion on whether binding objectives for energy efficiency were needed for the member states, many of which oppose this, but which the Parliament has taken position in favour of.
Lastly, under initiative of its Socialist minister, the Belgian Presidency intends to lay emphasis on the social dimension of European energy policy and the process of liberalisation of the internal energy market. Magnette intends to lead a debate on what means should be implemented to make the energy policy more consumer friendly. He pointed out that there was still a high level of energy provider monopoly on the energy markets (market domination of between 80 and 90% by three major groups in 14 member states for electricity and 10 member states for gas). The Belgian minister for energy also considers that the internal energy market liberalisation process begun at the end of the 1990s had still not reached its objective, namely, guaranteeing efficiency and accessible energy for all at affordable prices. As well as having a debate on making the situation fairer to consumers, Magnette would also like the liberalisation process to take vulnerable consumers in the EU more into account. He would like to work towards a common definition and indicators for measuring energy poverty. The Informal Energy Council in September will partly focus on an issue dear to the heart of the Belgian minister, who also wants to promote an exchange of best practices on how to provide consumers with new technology, such as networks and smart meters. (E.H./transl.fl)