In an interview to Euractiv on 14 September Virginie Schwarz, the Director for Energy at the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy (MEDE), outlined the position of France and five other EU countries that defend their right to take necessary market capacity measures (see EUROPE 12094, 12095).
As part of the debates that took place on 17 and 18 September in Austria during the informal European energy ministers' meeting, France holds a common position, along with other European partners, related to the new regulatory framework that must be implemented to ensure the security of electricity supply at European level.
Virginie Schwarz explained “This framework should allow member-states to take necessary measures in terms of supply security”. She considers that the new framework should also consider the variety of capacity mechanisms, without favouring one over the other. She also asserted that they needed to introduce environment performance criteria that can prevail, not only for new power stations, but also for existing ones and all types of mechanisms, regardless of their form and the moment when they have been (or will be) approved by the European Commission. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)