Brussels, 14/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - Independence, sustainability and security of the energy supply of the EU were the subject of debate at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on Tuesday 13 March, at a session attended by European Commission energy sector experts.
Although the various speakers agreed that the EU will never be able to be fully independent in terms of security of supply to satisfy its energy needs, the central theme of the conference entitled “Is Europe's Energy Sovereignty at Stake?” nonetheless revealed a number of different opinions on the ways of limiting energy dependency on third countries whilst effectively responding to the objectives of reducing carbon emissions.
During his address, Matthew Hulbert, who is responsible for energy security studies at the Clingendael Institute, painted a poor picture of the objectives of the roadmap for energy 2050, indicating that “emissions of CO2 continued to climb between 2009 and 2010”, and that with coal-producing emerging countries such as India or China, “the use of coal is set to increase by 25%”. According to Hulbert, the most optimistic observers wrongly believe that a transition to renewable energies is possible. However, with “security of energy demand at least until 2030”, the producers of fossil energies will continue to produce until their resources run out, the expert states.
In order to respond to the objectives of energy security and sustainability, the EESC supports the creation of a European Energy Community to promote energy efficiency and the development of sustainable sources of energy with low carbon emissions, and lends its strong support to a strong external EU policy in energy matters, based on security of supply. For its part, the Commission has also taken steps in this direction, putting a legislative proposal on the table in September 2011 aiming to reinforce cooperation between the member states of the EU as regards bilateral agreements with third countries which supply them with energy, and a mechanism for the exchange of information controlled by the European executive. The aim is to put an end to energy unilateralism, which is undermining the very foundations of the principle of solidarity between member states and negatively affecting the countries with the least weight in contractual relations. “The partnership between suppliers and beneficiaries must go both ways”, insisted Paula Abreu of the Commission's DG Energy. “We must keep good relations in place with our neighbours”, particularly with Russia, which provides the EU with around 30% of its energy needs, across all fuel types, “but we must also consider new suppliers such as Norway and the Gulf countries”, Abreu suggested. The head of the “transport, energy and infrastructure” section of the EESC, Stephane Buffetaut, stressed the need to diversify energy sources in order to avoid “depending on a single political and energy bloc”. The Commission's proposal on frameworks for inter-governmental agreements on energy, which was examined by the Council in February, was met with some misgivings by many member states, particularly due to its plank on sharing information. The Parliament and Council are now negotiating a compromise text, and the Danish Presidency hopes for an agreement by June.
Although there was unanimity among the experts on the need to reinforce strategic partnerships with supplier third countries in order to secure supply, Malgorzata Mika-Bryska, head of the economic and commercial section of the permanent representation of Poland to the EU, spoke in favour of the exploitation of energy resources at national level. “In particular, it is a matter of helping the member states to develop the potential of their domestic energy sources. We need to consolidate our domestic energy combustion technologies”, said Mika-Bryska, referring to the mining industry in Poland. She added that “not all countries have the option of developing solar energy like Spain and Greece”. (SD/stagiaire/transl.fl)