Brussels, 05/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 5 March, the European energy ministers gave broad support in Brussels to the strategic framework for building the Energy Union - which was tabled by the European Commission on 25 February. During their debate, Germany highlighted its opposition to the support of nuclear projects.
“The ministers stated their positions on the key parameters and objectives of the Energy Union. We heard an extremely clear message from them saying that this project must find a fair balance between energy security aspects, affordable prices and the transition to a low carbon economy. The concerns of citizens, the current geopolitical difficulties, jobs, sustainable mobility and energy bills must be at the centre of this political response”, Latvia's minister for the economy and acting president of the EU Council of Ministers, Dana Reizniece-Ozola, told press. “Some member states of course had a few criticisms of the proposed strategy, but the general impression is very positive and the member states' support was very open - including on the need to speak with a single voice”, she added.
Reizniece-Ozola noted the importance that the delegations gave to regional cooperation. “The ministers are very much in favour of implementing regional cooperation to improve the way the internal market works, and the Commission is of the opinion that regional cooperation is a good management tool for European energy policy measures”, she said.
European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic stressed the solidarity clause for energy security and on the means for making it operational. He also stressed the other flagship goal of the Energy Union project - making the free movement of energy the fifth freedom of movement. “The ministers agree that the Energy Union is an opportunity to put the necessary physical and administrative conditions in place to enable the single energy market to take off”, he told press. Sefcovic was also pleased about the delegations' “very firm support for the principle of efficiency”. “This obliges us to review the situation as regards energy efficiency and to consider it as an energy source in its own right, which requires a series of measures to be adopted in the construction and transport sectors”, Sefcovic stated, underlining the importance of supporting local actions in this sphere at the European and national levels. He was also pleased at the member states' “very strong support” for the decarbonisation dimension of the strategic framework.
The message of the European energy ministers will be passed on to their colleagues for the environment, who are meeting on Friday 6 March, and the Latvian Presidency will summarise the discussions of these two Council formations in a single letter to the Spring European Council on 19-20 March, Reizniece-Ozola stated. Saying that he was expecting clear support from the European Council, Sefcovic announced that the consultation process of the member states and stakeholders (launched in Riga on 6 February) would continue by means of several high level meetings “to see how to make this strategy concrete, to identify the bottlenecks and the barriers, and to find solutions”. He also promised an initial report on the state of the Energy Union before the end of the year.
The German 'no' to aid to the atom. One source said that during the course of the debate, several member states - especially the Eastern countries - insisted on energy security. As regards the increased transparency of gas contracts, Poland, Estonia and the UK stated they were in favour (unlike Malta and Cyprus), and Hungary said it believed that the current legislation was enough. Germany, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal and the UK insisted on the completion of the internal market. Spain, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Malta and Portugal insisted on strengthening interconnections. It is particularly the countries of Western Europe - including France, Italy and Luxembourg - which highlighted energy efficiency. Germany, Italy, Austria, Denmark and Sweden insisted on promoting renewable energy, with Germany and Italy stressing the need to align the financial support mechanisms. As regards nuclear energy, Germany stated its opposition to promoting a form of energy that is now “dated and well established” with European funds. Germany was supported by Austria, Luxembourg and Sweden. The UK, Romania, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic, and France more indirectly, underlined the importance of nuclear energy. Several member states insisted on technology neutrality - Estonia especially with regard to shale gas, Hungary, Italy and Lithuania in general. (Emmanuel Hagry)