Brussels, 06/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - Energy union, completion of the internal market and the energy/climate framework until 2030 are at the heart of the energy agenda of the Latvian Presidency which took over the reins of the Council of Ministers on 1 January for the first six months of 2015.
To determine the main lines of this programme in the first quarter, the Latvian Presidency will launch discussions at the start of February on the concept of an energy union, based on the proposals promised for the end of this month by Commission Vice-President with responsibility in this area Maros Sefcovic. The Presidency is looking to establish an implementation plan during its term of office. The energy union will be central to the two formal meetings of the Council of EU energy ministers to be chaired by the Latvian Presidency, the first on 5 March, at which discussions on this issue will be held, and the second on 8 June, where conclusions will be adopted.
In parallel, the Latvian Presidency intends to continue discussions on completing and strengthening the single energy market, paying particular attention to infrastructure, with two objectives: firstly, to end the isolation of certain member states from European networks by the end of 2015 as agreed by the European Council and, secondly, to reach a target of 10% cross-border interconnection by 2020. The Presidency will call on the Commission to report on the follow-up with regard to the first list of infrastructure projects of common interest (PCI) adopted in 2013 and will monitor the drafting of a second PCI list. A political debate on the issue of infrastructure is scheduled for the Energy Council of 5 March.
The Presidency will devote attention to certain key sections of the internal energy market, such as the regulatory framework - in particular, the electricity and gas network codes - and accompanying measures for the retail market.
It will also look to implementation of the European energy security strategy, building on the Commission proposals and the European Council conclusions of October 2014. Riga wants to assess the short-term energy security measures that have been put in place and to help develop medium- and long-term initiatives. The Presidency intends to hold a political debate on energy security at the Energy Council on 8 June.
With regard to the framework for energy and climate policies until 2030, set by the European Council of October 2014, the Latvian Presidency will work on the initial elements of the EU energy governance system in anticipation of the outcome of the UN climate conference in Paris in December 2015. In this context, the Presidency wants to evaluate the advantages of regional cooperation, a central issue in its programme. The 2030 energy/climate framework and the next steps in implementation will be discussed at an informal meeting of energy and environment ministers in Riga on 14-16 April.
In addition, the Latvian Presidency will continue with the work of the previous Presidencies in developing a sustainable energy policy, with, in particular, the aim of reaching second reading agreement with the European Parliament on the draft directive on indirect land-use change (ILUC). The Presidency will strive to make Europe more energy-efficient, supporting and facilitating efforts to improve the directive on energy labelling and the regulations on eco-design for the various groups of products.
Lastly, the Latvian Presidency intends to re-invigorate the talks taking place in international fora (including in the European neighbourhood) on energy-related issues and to encourage modernisation of multi-stakeholder cooperation frameworks, such as the Energy Community and the Energy Charter. (EH)