Brussels, 22/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - In parallel to an agreement on the 2030 energy/climate framework, the European Council of 23 - 24 October is to build more consistency into its common programme to reduce energy dependency and increase the security of supply of the EU. The EU28 are to reaffirm their aim of creating an energy union.
Single market. In its conclusions, the European Council will reiterate the need to “mobilise all efforts” to complete the single energy market, an “urgent question”, with the theoretical political objective for completion set for the end of 2014. The member states will be called upon to take urgent measures, in coordination with their neighbours: - to achieve the 10% objective for cross-border interconnections of installed electricity capacity; - to facilitate the implementation of infrastructure projects of common interest in order to ensure that energy islands are connected to the rest of Europe by 2020, especially the Baltic states and the Iberian peninsular, paying particular attention to Malta, Cyprus and Greece. Where the implementation of these projects is not enough to achieve 10% of cross-border interconnection, new projects must be identified, added to the revised list of projects and financed adequately.
Energy security. The European Council will welcome the Commission's report on the resilience of the energy system of the EU to a gas crisis this winter (stress tests) and its recommendations for short-term measures, and will also add to its conclusions from June of this year on medium- and long-term measures. Amongst other things, the EU28 are expected to agree on the need to: - implement critical infrastructure projects in the gas sector, particularly the North-South Corridor; - improve the provisions for a better use of regasification and storage capacity in the gas system; - increase the EU's negotiating power in energy matters, by establishing an information exchange mechanism on intergovernmental agreements concluded between the member states and supplier third countries.
Governance. The European Council is to agree on the development of an energy governance system to help the member states to achieve their energy policy objectives with the flexibility required and in full respect of their sovereign choice of energy mix. On the basis of the national climate programmes and national plans for renewables and energy efficiency, this system aims to increase transparency and predictability for investors and to facilitate the coordination of national energy policies as well as regional cooperation. (EH)