Brussels, 22/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - Speaking at the opening of a conference on Thursday in Brussels organised by the European Union of the Natural Gas Industry (Eurogas) on the theme of the single market in the global dimension, European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said the Community's second legislative package on the internal market for gas and electricity “ought to be sufficient”. “Investors must be attracted by a single market for gas that is both open and integrated. What the Commission does on the gas market will depend on the next report on opening of the internal market to be presented by the Commission this autumn, and on the results of the inquiry (in the energy field jointly conducted by DGs Energy and Competition: see EUROPE 8985) which should also come in the autumn”, Mr Piebalgs said. From then on, the Energy Commissioner said, the Commission will decide whether it must take new measures. He went on to specify that the Commission would not be making new proposals for a third legislative package. It is necessary to ensure investment stability with a stable legislation, Mr Piebalgs stressed. He had earlier alluded to the Commission's commitment (in the context of its “Better Regulation” initiative) to work along the lines of better legislation that is effective and coherent, and not to legislate when it is not necessary. “The internal gas and electricity market is on the right track”, Mr Piebalgs said, recalling, however, that infringement procedures were still underway concerning some Member States for failing to fully transpose European directives dating back to June 2003 on liberalisation of the energy markets (EUROPE 8985).
Furthermore, pointing out the importance of having energy supplies that are diversified and secure, Mr Piebalgs spoke of the current situation on the oil markets (see other article). Oil prices will have to reach a peak for priority to be given to the question of energy, he repeated, stressing that the high oil prices not only have a direct impact at the petrol pumps and for heating but also significantly penalise economic growth within the Union. Although, last Sunday, he had stressed the adverse effect that high oil prices would have especially for the large Union countries (EUROPE 9030), Mr Piebalgs noted on Thursday that they made a considerable contribution to slowing the high growth of the new Member States. He went on to assert that the Commission had regular discussions on the oil markets and that its energy policy was mainly geared to the intelligent use of energy, alternative energies, predictability and increased transparency of markets, as well as energy dialogue with third countries.
With regard to gas more specifically, Mr Piebalgs said that, even if a diversified energy mix is needed, the share of gas in the energy consumed in the Union, which today stands at 26%, should reach 32% in 2020. He also stressed the need to make gas supplies secure and hence to strengthen energy dialogue with Russia, Ukraine and the Maghreb countries. Finally, Mr Piebalgs placed emphasis on the role of liquefied natural gas, of which limited amounts are imported by the EU but that he would like to see rise to 20-30% of total gas consumption.