Brussels, 03/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - The current hot topics in the world of energy - security of supply and the completion of the single market - will be central to the informal discussions of the European energy ministers, in Milan on Monday 6 October. The ministers will be joined in the afternoon by their colleagues with responsibility for the environment, to discuss energy efficiency and the framework for energy and climate policies 2030, ahead of the European Council of 23 and 24 October.
At an initial working session of the Energy Council on Monday morning, the European networks of transmission system operators for electricity and gas, ENTSO-E and ENTSO-G, and the International Energy Agency will make presentations on energy security issues. The Italian Presidency will present a report on medium- and long-term measures for energy security, following on from the conclusions of the European Council of 23-24 June. This will be followed by a session of ministerial debate.
A second working session will be given over to the completion of the single energy market. The session will start with a presentation by the Commission on the challenges ahead to conclude this process, theoretically scheduled, as a political objective of the European Council, for the end of this year.
The joint informal meeting of the energy ministers and their environment counterparts will kick off with a working lunch on the theme of energy efficiency. The ministers will discuss the lessons learnt from the implementation of the current framework for energy efficiency and the short- and long-term priorities in this area.
Lastly, at a second joint working session, the ministers will discuss the 2030 framework for energy and the climate, on which the EU leaders are to reach an agreement at their autumn summit. The session will start with a presentation by the Secretariat General of the Council, on behalf of the Cabinet of the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, a progress report on negotiations on the 2030 framework. To structure the debate, the Italian Presidency will ask the ministers to answer two questions: one on the electricity interconnection objective, the other regarding redistribution mechanisms. (EH)