Brussels, 07/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - EU27 leaders at the European Council on 4 February managed to reach an agreement on the necessity of completing the internal energy market by 2014. They also agreed to modernise and extend the EU's energy infrastructure, diversification of energy sources, massively invest in renewables and low carbon fuels (such as nuclear power) and ensure greater coherence in relations with non-EU supply countries. The European Commission welcomed this as another step forward for Europe. The Conservatives (EPP) at the European Parliament were also pleased. They are in government in 21 of the 27 EU member states but the Greens and environmental NGOs, however, were much more critical.
José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, said that the European summit on 4 February, focusing on energy policy and security, had made “major progress”. His colleague, Günther Oettinger, spoke of a “breakthrough” and added that “for the very first time, we have set ourselves a clear deadline for completing the common energy market. By 2014, power and gas should be transported as easily throughout Europe as goods and services. Nothing will help us more to ensure security of supply in energy resources and affordable prices for consumers and industry alike than a real European marketplace in energy”. The commissioner for energy added: “I am particularly pleased that heads of state and government have today clearly supported the idea that some critical energy infrastructure needs to be deployed swiftly and that simplification of permitting and some public financial support will be particularly instrumental to that effect.”
Although the chairman of the EPP Group at the Parliament, Joseph Daul from France, considers that “the decisions of the European Council go in the right direction”, he does, nonetheless, warn that “all these measures should be taken within a Community framework and not at an intergovernmental level”. The co-chairs of the Greens, Rebecca Harms (Germany) and Daniel Cohn-Bendit (France) deplore the fact that “EU energy policy remains a dead letter after the high tension summit”. The two MPs regret that “despite the spectacular effects announced, the conclusions of the European Council did not introduce any added value whatsoever. The result could have certainly been worse and the Greens are pleased that the attacks against support mechanisms for renewables have been opposed. Nonetheless, with regard to the essential issue of energy savings, indecision continues to reign”. They add that “a real commitment in favour of energy efficiency is necessary if the EU wants to attain the objectives that it has set itself. The only way of reaching this is to make this target binding and we deplore the fact that European leaders have failed to seize this opportunity”. They welcome, however, support from the leaders to existing national support systems for renewables and the failure of attempts to promote nuclear energy from the French and Czech governments. Their colleague Michèle Rivasi is much more critical. In a press release, the French MEP states: “Once again European leaders are rejecting the only strategies that will allow for a genuine sustainable energy policy. Although energy efficiency is recognised as a pillar in the European strategy, energy savings and renewables will suffer from the 'always more' strategy quagmire. Although our economy must be directed towards better use of resources by uncoupling economic development and economic growth, the EU is racing along, unbridled, towards energy production”. She added that “by requesting an evaluation of unconventional fossil fuel potential, the European Council has just admitted that it is seeking to develop an unsustainable strategy. Shale gas will not change the energy cluster at all because its potential has been calculated at between 3 and 5% of all EU gas imports up to 2020. Developing its potential means an orientation towards costly, wasteful and dangerous investments for European countries. Fossil fuels are never innovative and are in contradiction with the EU's climate targets”. Speaking on behalf of the Liberals, Lena Ek from Sweden also regretted that “the European Council is continuing to demonstrate a certain reticence towards binding objectives for energy efficiency and is pushing back energy saving performance evaluations until 2013”. According to Ek, this is “putting the EU in a relatively weak position in terms of competitiveness with the US and China, which are massively investing in the green economy”.
Greenpeace, the environmental protection organisation was pleased that renewables “were placed at the heart of the summit” but was disappointed that there had been no progress on binding targets for energy efficiency. WWF regretted that “Europe is wasting billions of euros every year on outdated, insecure energy. It is astonishing that European leaders are not therefore acting boldly on policy ensuring a strong economy with clean energy”. Friends of the Earth also regretted that no brilliant idea had emerged from the summit and that assessing the potential of conventional and nonconventional resources, such as shale gas, is not going to help find a solution to the question of energy dependency. (E.H./transl.fl)