In the driving seat of the Council of the EU since 1 January and for the coming six months, the Maltese Presidency hopes to move forward the agenda of the Energy Union by stimulating the inter-institutional work on the legislative proposals put forward by the European Commission on this subject in 2016.
In the framework of a common programme of work running from January 2016 to June 2017, the previous Dutch and Slovak Presidencies and the Maltese Presidency have undertaken to pursue the realisation of the Energy Union project launched in February 2015 (see EUROPE 11262) and the completion of the single energy market of the EU, with an emphasis on interconnections, improving regional cooperation and tightening up energy relations with third countries. This programme will also see the monitoring of commitments in the fight against climate change, in the light of the international agreement on climate concluded in December 2015 (see other article).
Presenting the Presidency's programme at the Energy Council of 5 December last year, the competent Maltese Minister, Konrad Mizzi, explained that he would prioritise the dossiers still to be finalised, more specifically the key text of the gas security package tabled by the Commission in February 2016: the proposed revised regulation on the security of gas supply (see EUROPE 11491). Under the impetus of the Slovak Presidency, the EU in December paved the way for a general approach of the Council with a view to the forthcoming negotiations with the European Parliament on this text (see EUROPE 11682). The Council and Parliament have already concluded a dialogue agreement, also in December, on the second key text of the gas security package, the draft revised decision on the transparency of inter-governmental agreements (IGAs) in the field of energy (see EUROPE 11686).
The Maltese Presidency will also have to finalise the trilogue negotiations with Parliament on the draft revised regulation on the energy labelling of low-energy products, which was tabled by the Commission in summer 2015. The Council reached a general orientation in November 2015 and the Parliament tabled its amendments in July of last year; informal trilogues under the Slovak Presidency allowed a provisional agreement to be reached on most of the non-core political issues (see EUROPE 11680).
Additionally, the Maltese Presidency also wishes to launch the debate at the Council in parallel on the entire raft of eight legislative elements which make up the clean energy package presented by the Commission on 30 November (see EUROPE 11679). These proposals concern energy efficiency, renewable energy, the organisation of the electricity market and an EU system of governance for energy and climate up to 2030.
Two formal meetings of the Energy Council are included on the agenda of the Maltese Presidency: one of these will be held in Brussels on 27 February, when the ministers will seek to agree on a general approach to the proposed revised regulation on the security of gas supplies; at the other, to take place in Luxembourg on 26 June, the Maltese Presidency hopes to reach general approaches to the proposed revised directive on energy efficiency and the proposed revised directive on the energy performance of buildings. A debate on clean energy is also scheduled.
The Maltese Presidency has also slated an informal meeting of the energy ministers, to be held in Valetta on 18 and 19 May. This meeting will be given over to the Mediterranean dimension of the Energy Union project (regional cooperation and energy diversification in the region).
At a conference on energy held in Bratislava at the beginning of December 2016, Mizzi stressed the synchronisation between the Energy Union project and reforms underway in Malta for the energy transition, with plans for a new gas-fired power station, which aims to allow the country to turn its back for good on the use of heavy fuel oil and to close down its old high-polluting power stations.
Mizzi pledged that Malta would make a strong contribution to moving forward the proposals for the Energy Union, suggesting that regional groups of countries be set in place to facilitate the implementation of the project and ensure that the targets are met and that the project remains sensitive to the specifics of member states such as Malta. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)