Brussels, 07/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - Supply security, the situation on the international energy markets, energy efficiency and renewable energies were on the agenda of Wednesday's meeting in Oslo between Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and Norwegian Energy Minister Thorhild Widvey, in the context of EU-Norway energy cooperation and dialogue. During discussions, Mr Piebalgs stressed Norway's importance as a major energy supplier for the Union - to which it is bound by the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement - and as a “partner in developing an energy policy for Europe to meet the new challenges facing us” aimed at raising the challenge of sustainability. “We have a common view on the need not only to develop new sources of oil and gas supplies, particularly in the Arctic region, but also to actively and positively address climate change in a way that provides concrete benefits for our citizens. This can be done notably through better technology such as carbon capture and storage and through energy efficiency, as well as by promoting renewable energy”, Mr Piebalgs said. The EU and Norway expressed their intention to strengthen energy cooperation and dialogue and confirmed their commitment to meet on an annual basis. Their next meeting is for early 2006 on the theme of the internal energy market, in which Norway fully participates. Europeans and Norwegians confirmed that more extensive use of renewable energies is one of their common priorities, and they agreed to strengthen cooperation and to share best practices for energy efficiency. Mr Piebalgs and Ms Widvey also exchanged views on Norway's White Paper to the Storting on “Opportunities and Challenges in the northern Areas”. In this context, the Norwegian minister said that “acceptable coexistence” of oil activity in the North Sea with other sea users, such as maritime transport and fishing, was essential and should take environmental concerns into account. Europeans and Norwegians also stressed the importance of technological development in the energy sector, mainly in the context of the 7th framework programme for research and development. Capture and the storage of carbon dioxide being an essential aspect, Oslo and Brussels hope to step up their effort in this field to speed up progress toward sustainable energy generation in Europe.