On Wednesday 8 November, the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, presented to the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels the Eighth Report on the State of the Energy Union, as set out by the European Commission on 24 October (see EUROPE 13278/5). This report focuses on the progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, developing clean energy and reducing dependence on Russian gas following Russia’s aggression in Ukraine in February 2022.
“The State of the Energy Union report shows that the EU has responded effectively to the energy crisis. The ‘REPowerEU’ strategy has worked well and has helped to avoid the worst effects of the crisis”, Ms Simson told the House.
Continuing dependency and high prices
While a majority of MEPs did not completely question this statement, many highlighted that a great deal of work still needed to be done, whether in terms of the target for the share of renewable energy in the European energy mix, energy efficiency, or reducing dependence on Russia.
“On the one hand, we have been able to reduce Russian imports rapidly. But, on the other hand, we are still paying Mr Putin €2 billion every month to buy his fossil fuels. And if you look at it from that angle, I think it’s a tragedy”, said Niels Fuglsang (S&D, Danish).
Christophe Grudler (Renew Europe, French) also called for “continued efforts”. “We still import 15% of Russian gas”, he lamented.
Zdzisław Krasnodębski (ECR, Polish), meanwhile, pointed out the large subsidies still enjoyed by some fossil fuel producers. Like many other MEPs, he noted that prices in the EU remained higher than in other regions of the world, both for citizens and businesses.
“The EU’s competitiveness is suffering because of this. Our companies end up moving to the other side of the Atlantic”, he warned.
The potential maintenance of emergency plans
During her speech, the European Commissioner also called for caution with regard to energy markets, which remain fragile due to high geopolitical tensions. She spoke of integrating tools to respond to the energy crisis into the EU’s long-term legislative framework.
“We should consider maintaining the temporary emergency schemes introduced in 2022. [They] were essential last year to get through the crisis safely”, she told MEPs, referring explicitly to the regulations on gas solidarity (see EUROPE 13261/7), on the market correction mechanism (see EUROPE 13112/28) and on speeding up the procedure for granting permits for renewable energies (see EUROPE 13088/5). (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)