Brussels, 14/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - “In the coming months”, European Commissioner for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic is to make known his “concrete proposed priorities” for building an Energy Union.
“Building the Energy Union is one of the most pressing challenges of this Commission”, said Sefcovic at a conference in Bratislava on Thursday 13 November.
The first pillar of this project is strengthening energy security, Sefcovic stated, stressing that this happens through integration of the 28 national energy markets and through pooling member states' resources in order to strengthen their negotiating power with external suppliers. “We need to stop thinking of markets as national territories. We need to explore common purchasing of gas. We will need to diversify our energy sources and routes, and reduce the high energy dependency on several of our member states”, Sefcovic stated.
Strengthened energy security also involves solidarity and increased trust between member states. “We should be ready to help and stand for each other. Solidarity is key to securing gas supplies”, Sefcovic continued. In order to increase trust, Sefcovic stressed the need for increased transparency on the individual agreements passed by the member states with their third suppliers. In the same way, the member states should consult with each other when they decide to change their energy system, given the “enormous consequences” that such changes can have on the energy systems of others, Sefecovic stated.
The commissioner also reiterated the four pillars of his strategy - completing the internal market for energy, moderation of energy demand and energy efficiency, decarbonisation of the EU energy mix, and research and innovation. (EH)