The energy ministers of the EU Member States will meet in Amiens (France) on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 January for informal meetings to discuss rising energy prices, energy efficiency and hydrogen.
Before focusing on these specific energy-related issues, the ministers will exchange views on Friday with their counterparts in charge of the environment, who are due to arrive on Thursday (see other news).
They will have a joint working lunch on the theme of just transition, as well as a joint working session on the role of forests and wood in environmental, energy and climate policies.
After the departure of the Environment Ministers late on Friday, the Energy Ministers will meet for a working dinner.
Saturday will be devoted to specific energy topics. In the morning, the ministers will discuss energy prices for consumers, followed by a debate on energy efficiency.
This is the fourth time that ministers have met to try to find solutions to soaring energy prices (see EUROPE 12845/4, 12820/2, 12796/9), as EU countries are very divided between those who call for short-term measures at EU level and those who fear the consequences of such measures on the functioning of the European energy market.
The subject of energy efficiency was discussed by the ministers on 2 December (see EUROPE 12846/5).
As their meeting closes with a lunch on the topic of hydrogen in Europe, the issue of including fossil gas and nuclear energy in the EU taxonomy can be expected to crop up in the discussion (see EUROPE 12860/1). (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)