Strasbourg, 24/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - On the basis of the report by Poland's Lena Kolarska-Bobinska (EPP), which will be put to the vote of the plenary session this Thursday, MEPs lent their support, but with some reservations, to the new energy strategy for the EU by 2020, which was presented in early November by European Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger (EUROPE 10254).
Opening the debate which preceded the adoption of her report, Lena Kolarska-Bobinska described as “extremely good” the new five-point strategy recently proposed by the European Commission, which will lead to the presentation of a number of concrete legislative initiatives and proposals to be presented by Oettinger's services over the next 18 months, leading to the work of the first European Council on energy, to be held on 4 February 2011. “This strategy embodies the spirit of the Treaty of Lisbon, by laying emphasis on solidarity and the security of supply, and the external dimension”, said the rapporteur. “The single energy market must work effectively, by including the market for renewable energies, which has still to be built. We must modernise infrastructure, by working to remove the obstacles cited by the member states protecting their historic operators”, Kolarska-Bobinska continued, calling for the creation of “clear criteria” for future priority infrastructure projects, such as “clear rules” for cross-border projects. “The main issue is funding, and we are all well aware of the tension surrounding the financial perspectives”, the Polish MEP continued, going on to conclude: “Will the member states be prepared to limit their national interests? We must support efforts of this kind”.
Defending his strategy in the hemicycle, Günther Oettinger reiterated the importance of modernising and strengthening the energy infrastructure. “As regards the transport of energy products such as gas and electricity, we have not done everything in our power if we hope to guarantee supply. We need transparency, we need public acceptance, and we also need financial resources. The question of financing is an essential one”, the energy commissioner explained. Oettinger also stressed the need to exploit the “enormous potential” of saving energy, for which it will be necessary to “set clear objectives”, to make the most of the work being done in the field of R&D and to use innovative technologies, but also to take greater account of the rights of consumers and to fight energy poverty. Lastly, as regards the external dimensions, the German commissioner pleaded in favour of a “concerted European strategy”, stressing the importance of “concerted actions between the member states on structures and supply contracts”.
Having all congratulated Kolarska-Bobinska on her “excellent work”, the vast majority of the MEPs who took the floor rallied to the 10-year strategy as proposed by Oettinger, with a couple of discordant voices. On behalf of the S&D, Sweden's Marita Ulvskog spoke of her “great disappointment” at the absence of binding objectives on energy efficiency, but welcomed the presence of a chapter on consumers and their rights. “The problem of energy poverty is very important. The member states must make sure that they are well aware of their responsibilities”, the Social Democrat MEP stressed, with regard to the latter point. Stressing the importance of wind energy, the Danish MEP Jens Rohde described the strategy as “discouraging” on climate issues, calling for a 30% target for the reduction of CO2 emissions by 2020. For the Greens, Luxembourg's Claude Turmes stressed the need for the full implementation of the existing legislation on energy matters, such as the “Energy and climate” package of 2008, the third liberalisation package and the rules on security of gas supply. “You have done good work on the issue of infrastructure. As regards competition, this must not be forgotten about”, he told Oettinger. Turmes went on to lament the fact that the energy commissioner's strategy is “not very specific” about renewable energies, even though these will represent 70% of investments over the next 20 years. Speaking for the ECR, Poland's Konrad Szymanski spoke out against Russia limiting access to the gas pipelines and the monopoly exercised by the gas giant Gazprom. “The EU must stand firm, particularly in the words of its high representative”, he said. The German MEP Herbert Reul (EPP) and Emil Stoyanov (independent) of Bulgaria highlighted the importance of nuclear power. (E.H./transl.fl)