Brussels, 04/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 3 December, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the US supported the endeavours of the EU to ensure energy security for itself and Ukraine and to reduce dependence on Russian gas by diversifying supply.
Energy security, the Ukrainian crisis, transatlantic energy cooperation and the efforts to fight climate change were the focus of the sixth session of the transatlantic Council on energy, which was held in Brussels and attended by European Commissioner for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic and European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete.
On Wednesday, the transatlantic Council hailed the 31 October gas agreement between Russia and Ukraine and called for a long-term gas agreement between the two countries, without prejudice to the outcome of the Russian-Ukrainian dispute which has been taken to the international court of arbitration in Stockholm. The EU and US also implicitly called on Russia “not to use energy as a political weapon”.
In addition, the transatlantic Council hailed the development of energy infrastructure in Europe, the strengthening of reverse flows, and the European objective of building an Energy Union.
Although the EU is working on projects to diversify its supply (sources, routes and suppliers), the US reiterated its resolve to market large quantities of liquefied natural gas, which will have an impact on prices. (EH)