Brussels, 17/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - At less than two months from the Spring European Council on 23 and 24 March, the work of which will be largely devoted to energy policy, the Commission and the Austrian EU Council Presidency can count on the Parliament's broad support of their hopes to lay the foundations for a common energy policy.
After a plenary debate on Tuesday on the theme of energy security, Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs welcomed the Parliament's support for the idea of a common energy approach in line with the principle of subsidiarity. Stressing that the Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute has shown that secure energy supplies are not guaranteed, the Austrian minister for the economy and president-in-office of the Council, Martin Bartenstein, recalled that energy policy and the choice of strategic means to guarantee European Union supplies are, after the fashion of competitiveness and sustainability issues, above all, political issues.
Mr Bartenstein said that, in addition to the lessons to be drawn from the temporary interruption in Russian gas supplies that affected several EU Member States (need to diversify supply sources and transit means, to privilege development of the natural liquefied gas market, increase transparency on fossil fuel markets and guarantee stable market prices for gas, or make new long-term investment in infrastructure and, in the short term, strengthen the internal gas network), it becomes urgent to set up a common energy approach.
As energy can be used as a foreign policy weapon and as Community mechanisms currently in place do not allow Europe to be invulnerable, the European Union must inevitably take the measures necessary to set in place a real common policy for energy, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski of Poland (EPP-ED) said, noting, moreover, the importance of solidarity between Member States to come to the assistance of countries that fall victim to interrupted energy supplies, and the need for the Union to intensify its effort to consolidate European energy supply security via the EIB, EU Neighbourhood Policy and the pooling of energy sources.
Austrian Social Democrat Johannes Swoboda believes that, in the context of a common approach, all Member States should work toward energy supply diversification and reflect with the energy sector on how to best manage infrastructures in order to avoid monopolistic situations forming.
Furthermore, placing emphasis on the need for a single energy policy, the Lithuanian Liberal member, Danuté Budrekaité, stressed the importance that the European Commission would have in the eyes of Moscow if it were the sole representative of the 25 Member States on energy issues.
According to German Green member Rebecca harms, the gas conflict has revealed Europe's vulnerabilities when it comes to energy. A coordinated and unified energy approach would be very advantageous for the Union and would allow it to reduce energy wastage. Konrad Szymanski (UEN, Poland) said that, if Europe is faced with the choice of either building a gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea or diversifying its supplies and having a common policy, it should choose the second solution to combat Russian imperialism.
During the debate, most MEPs also stressed the need to lay the base for a common energy policy and to ensure diversification of energy supply sources.