Brussels, 12/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek took the opportunity of a seminar on the European Energy Community project , which he strongly defends along with former Commission president Jacques Delors, to ratchet up pressure on heads of electricity and network companies to improve interconnections in Europe.
“We have to overcome the fragmentation of the internal market. To achieve that, we need to link our electricity networks. No more lonely islands in Europe's power sector”, Buzek argued at the seminar with Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger and the heads of electricity generation and transport companies in Brussels, on Tuesday 12 October. “Creating an integrated and smart network as well as the capacity to negotiate as a single bloc with energy suppliers and transit countries are key for a well-functioning energy market. Europe also needs to diversify its energy mix and the capacity to have own funds for energy projects. This will boost economic growth through lower and more predictable prices”, he added, calling for best use to be made of renewables, for technologies, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), to be developed, and for energy efficiency to be improved. (EH/transl.rt)