Madrid, 21/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - In an interview with the Spanish paper "Expansión" on 21 November, the Vice-President of the European Commission with responsibility for energy and transport, Loyola de Palacio, said that the price of crude oil had fallen too low and that it was not in Europe's interest for the rate to go below $20/barrel because that would endanger investment in the sector, particularly in prospecting, which would itself lead to serious new price fluctuations in the medium-term.
Asked about the liberalisation of gas and electricity, Ms de Palacio said she was confident that the future Spanish Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers would achieve progress. She announced the imminent unveiling (before the end of November) of a proposal to provide financial aid for electrical interconnections, which is of interest to Spain. She argued that the Californian disaster had occurred because California's electricity market was cut off from the other states and that was what the EU had to try to avoid.