Brussels, 31/05/2006 (Agence Europe) - The staff of High Representative for the CFSP Javier Solana have finalised the guidelines on external energy policy which he will present to heads of state and government at the European Council of 15-16 June. Having laid the basis for a new common energy strategy at the last European Council in March (see EUROPE 9160), European leaders called on Mr Solana to contribute to the drawing up of a coherent external policy on energy issues. EUROPE has seen the document on an external energy policy serving the interests of Europe, which has already been circulated among Member States. Here are the main points.
The need for the EU to have a sure and lasting energy flow at reasonable prices and the scale of the risks linked to increased dependence on imports from politically unstable regions where energy could be used as a political weapon are no longer up for debate. Mr Solana in his contribution to the EU strategy on external energy relations does not in any way question the right of member States to maintain their own external relations to guarantee the safety of supply and to choose their own energy mix. Working from the guiding principles laid out in the Commission's Green Paper of March (see EUROPE 9151), it identifies a series of multi-level (bilateral, regional and multilateral) initiatives which will ensure a coherent and targeted external policy, focusing on two key objectives: the proper working of markets and the diversification of supply sources, of their geographical origin and their supply routes.
Among the guiding principles on energy, emphasis is put on the need to encourage transparency and good governance of the energy sector through energy partnerships with third countries. The objective is to create stable legal conditions which are non-discriminatory, transparent, open and of mutual benefit for investment and energy trade. Improving the production and export capacities of producer countries, modernising energy transport infrastructure in producer and transit countries, improving the investment climate for European companies in third countries and opening the production and export of energy resources to EU industry are also priorities for a coherent energy policy, which must also seek to improve the terms of energy exchange by offering producer and transit countries non-discriminatory access to export infrastructure. Material and environmental security and the security of energy infrastructure must also be increased. Over and above the promotion of energy efficiency, renewables, biofuels, “clean” technology (low in CO2 emissions) and the mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol, the EU external policy must also seek to create, for those countries which have chosen nuclear power, an international supply scheme for enriched uranium in line with non-proliferation commitments and taking account of the arrangements in the Euratom Treaty. Finally, the creation of joint strategic reserves should be promoted.
Energy security is increased by the proper working of markets and diversification. The guidelines proposed by the High Representative highlight the contribution that EU could make to the proper working of markets (legal and material security, transparency of information) by extending its market to its neighbours to form a “common regulation area” operating under agreed rules on trade, transit and the environment. The EU has to opt for reciprocity in opening and abiding by the rules of the market, says the text, stressing the greater risk of perturbation of the energy system caused by the increasing number of bilateral agreements between major consumer countries, seeking to make their supply more secure, and producer countries. The EU, then, should encourage all its partners, particularly the major consumer countries, to opt for a multilateral approach. Diversification of sources, of geographical origin and of transit routes comes from modernising and maintaining the infrastructure in neighbouring countries, the construction of new infrastructure (LNG terminals, oil pipelines linking the Community market to the Caspian Sea and Central Asia) and the development of new “energy corridors”. The text says that all the instruments the EU has at its disposal should be used, political dialogue, Community policies (competition, trade, neighbourhood and development) and the financial institutions, led by the EIB and EBRD.
To be coherent, strategic and targeted, the external energy policy has to be supported by the Union, the Member States and industry and be linked to the Union's efforts to resolve conflicts and promote human rights.
Additionally, to identify its interests and assess the risks, the EU should have a network of energy security correspondents, made up of representatives of Member States, the Commission and the Council, alongside a European supply observatory.
Finally, the EU should take a series of initiatives to strengthen cooperation with other consumer countries, and with producer and transit countries. On a bilateral level, the EU must: - within the framework of negotiations for a new partnership and cooperation agreement, work with Russia on an general agreement to integrate the European and Russian markets in a way that is non-discriminatory, transparent, reciprocal and of mutual benefit; - maintain its strategic partnership with Norway and develop the same kind of partnership with Algeria; - help Turkey to make full use of its transit capacities and encourage it to join the Energy Community; - implement the agreement protocol with Ukraine on energy cooperation, include a chapter on energy in the forthcoming bilateral agreement and consider Ukraine's joining the Energy Community; - emphasise the application of arrangements on energy in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) action plans; - develop energy cooperation with major producer and transit partners in North Africa and Black Africa, the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea, Central Asia, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf and Latin America; - strengthen dialogue and cooperation with major consumer countries (Japan, the United States and China) and find a common position on global energy issues to improve transparency and the working of world energy markets and develop sustainable energy resources and energy efficiency. At the regional level, the EU must: - extend the EU internal market to European Economic Area and ENP countries through the Community Energy Treaty; - develop regulatory convergence through the ENP, improve the investment climate and put in place uniform rules on opening markets, fair competition and protection of the environment. On the multilateral level, it must make the objectives of the EU energy strategy part of its multilateral trade policy and work through the WTO to achieve these objectives; - conclude negotiations on the Energy Charter protocol on transit and ensure its ratification by all signatory countries; - encourage those Member States which are members of the G8 and the Commission to use the G8 and the enlarged G8 (with South Africa, Brazil, China, India and Nigeria) to promote the EU's energy interests; - consider how to improve cooperation with the International Energy Agency (IEA) and increase its membership; - push for an international agreement on energy efficiency, and encourage renewables and clean technology.