Brussels, 14/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - The EU will be even more dependent on outside sources for fuel supplies by 2030 than it is at present: 60% of its natural gas and 80% of its crude oil is currently imported. In this position of vulnerability on the increasingly interdependent and rapidly changing global energy landscape, the EU must adopt joint diplomacy in its energy relations with third countries. Following the proposals of Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger brought forward at the start of September, the EPP, the Conservative group in the European Parliament (EP), called on member states to speed up efforts to act and speak as one when dealing with supplier and transit countries.
Energy Commissioner Oettinger, a close ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), was the keynote speaker at a public hearing on the EU's external energy policy, organised by the EPP Group in Brussels on Friday 11 November. Opening the event, in which member states' diplomats and high-level experts from the European institutions and international think-tanks also took part, Oettinger spoke of the “common interests” of all member states in energy policy and underlined the need for a fully integrated single energy market to be used as an “asset” in relations with the EU's neighbours and beyond. At the start of September, Oettinger unveiled a strategy to counter the domination of Russian gas giant Gazprom which would require EU member states to obtain Commission approval before being able to sign contracts with third country energy suppliers (see EUROPE 10447).
“When speaking of diversification, we should not only take into account the different sources of energy but also different exporters and transit routes. … Due to the growing importance of external energy policy, EU institutions, including the European Parliament, should play an increasing role in this area,” stated Herbert Reul, Chairman of the EP energy committee. “As EPP MEPs, we warmly welcome the Commission's proposal. It mirrors some of the innovative policy recommendations adopted by the European Parliament as early as 2007”, said Jacek Sarysz-Wolski, the initiator of the hearing. “Today we have all agreed that building up energy diplomacy is imperative. The Union needs to further integrate its internal energy market and to use it with confidence as a leverage in relations with third countries. At the same time, let us not forget that we must foresee concrete mechanisms for emergency situations in case of an obstinate attitude on the part of a third country”, said the Polish MEP in a thinly veiled message to Russia. (EH/transl.rt)