Representatives of the Western Balkan countries should be included in the meetings of the Energy (‘Energy Council’) and Environment (‘Environment Council’) ministers of the Member States, said Tomislav Ćorić, Croatia’s Minister of Environment and Energy, on Wednesday 22 January, when he presented the energy priorities of the Croatian EU Council Presidency to the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE).
In response to a question from Michael Bloss (Greens/EFA, Germany), who pointed out that the sixteen coal-fired power plants in the Western Balkans pollute more than the 250 plants in the EU, Mr Ćorić stressed that pollution knows no borders and it is therefore important for the EU to cooperate more with the Western Balkans.
Regarding the priorities of the Croatian Presidency in the energy sector, the Minister said that Zagreb will focus on the completion of the Energy Union, in particular the implementation of the ‘Clean energy for all Europeans’ package, and on energy transition.
On this second point, Mr Ćorić assured that Croatia supports the European Commission’s European Green Deal. It nevertheless stressed the importance of carrying out objective assessments of the measures under consideration in order to take proper account of national circumstances, particularly energy circumstances, which vary greatly from one Member State to another.
Gas continues to be a hot topic of debate. With regard to gas, the Minister stressed the transitional role of this energy source in the coming years, while praising the potential of sector coupling and intelligent sector integration.
In his view, although the EU must be ambitious on the climate front, we must also be aware that the transition is a process that will take decades, and that it is therefore necessary to continue building infrastructure, particularly gas infrastructure, which will ensure the EU’s energy security.
While acknowledging that gas can be a transitional energy, MEP Niels Fuglsang (S&D, Denmark), for his part, felt that by agreeing to invest in new gas projects under the fourth list of projects of common interest (see other news), the EU runs the risk of finding itself “with its hands tied” and therefore unable to get out of gas fast enough.
The role of islands. The Croatian Presidency will also address the energy transition of the approximately 2,000 inhabited islands in the EU, “by building on their contribution and potential”. Given that many of them are heavily dependent on the importation of fossil fuels from the continent, we must help them make the transition to clean energy, the Minister stressed. To this end, Zagreb intends to work towards broadening the scope of the EU Declaration on Clean Energy for EU Islands, the so-called ‘Valletta Declaration’, signed on 18 May 2017 (see EUROPE 11791/14), while ensuring a long-term framework. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)