What else has to happen before the EU becomes aware of the need to act together when negotiating with third countries in the energy arena? The debate was launched last April by Jacques Delors, who advocated a new European treaty for this sector - a specific Community, with simple institutions and clearly defined rules. He pointed out that energy is not only at the heart of the economy but is also “a fundamental element of foreign policy” and that in this vital domain, “Europe is not present”. Overall, at a political level, his statement received a positive welcome and the president of the European Parliament became involved with the initiative. On the ground, however, nothing appears to have shifted yet.
Courting Vladimir Putin. Jacques Delors used the occasion of an interview with a newspaper (Dernières nouvelles d'Alsace) to relaunch the project, possibly in the form of enhanced cooperation under the Lisbon Treaty. The new initiative “would help ensure the security of supply and develop new energies more quickly and less expensively. Cooperation would also have an advantage at an external level: it would mean that each player would not have to attempt to court Mr Putin and would enable the EU to present itself more coherently and strongly in negotiations with gas and oil producers”. He also added that “this is within our reach; I am not cultivating any utopias. Europe needs pragmatic projects and concrete progress”. This was just last week.
Now, over the weekend Mr Berlusconi met Vladimir Putin in his dacha mainly to discuss the practical implications of setting up the Southstream oil pipeline for transporting Russian gas to the EU without passing through the Ukraine. According to available news sources, Mr Putin provided assurances that Southstream would not be competing with the Nabucco project (which bypasses Russian territory) but said that the two projects are complementary. Mr Berlusconi agreed and supports not just France's participation but also that of Germany in Southstream. It would appear that he is willing to grant the Germans some of Italy's participation in this enterprise. Calendar related coincidences meant that Mr Berlusconi visited Mr Putin a few days after the allusion made by Mr Delors, who was actually setting his sights on member states in general. This is because all the different member states that have the possibility discuss and negotiate at a national level with big oil supplier countries - which often means that “Brussels” is not even aware of what is going on.
For internal aspects, Europe exists… The Lisbon Treaty specifies and develops the remit of the European Commission with regard to internal aspects of energy policy: how the market operates, energy efficiency, energy saving, developing renewable energies and connecting up the different national grids. The Commission shares its remit in these very significant domains with the member states, and it uses its right of initiative and monitors respect for Community rules. Its legislative and regulatory initiatives are numerous: the EP supports these and sometimes corrects them. See EUROPE 10220 with regard to the EP's support for the regulation on security of gas supply and solidarity between member states, a text that the Council has also just approved (see the following pages). On these issues, the EU exists and is making progress.
… but for external aspects, innovation is required. For external relations, nothing Community is specifically included in the current treaty. Negotiations and arrangements with Russia, together with other suppliers and Turkey, remain within the national preserve. It is not only the most powerful member states that are acting as they see fit. Poland is negotiating its gas contract with Russia bilaterally (accompanied, it is true, by Community officials); Romania adopted a memorandum of understanding with Georgia and Azerbaijan on energy cooperation and future inter-connections. A number of other examples could be added. It is likely that several small and medium-sized member states would be delighted with a Community remit that would strengthen their negotiating power. Nonetheless, the big countries do not give the impression that they are in a hurry to give a European character to their relations with the giant supplier countries.
Might Mr Van Rompuy envisage including this issue on the European Council agenda? And could the European Parliament, which is very often a stickler on questions of form, take initiatives in this substantive area, which is so important to the European economy, the climate and the role of the EU in the world?
(F.R./transl.fl)