Strasbourg, 26/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 26 September the European Parliament adopted by a very large majority (553 votes for, 103 against, with 27 abstentions) the report by Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (EPP-ED, Poland), “Towards a Common European Foreign Policy on Energy”. It has therefore given its support to a coordinated approach and action by the EU27 when it comes to managing the EU's energy relations with third countries and ensuring its energy security “in a significant way”. In the perspective, the EP put on the table a series of novel and concrete proposals in support of a gradual approach towards such a policy and calls on the Commission and Council to implement by the end of 2007, a road map setting out a series of targets and stages to this end.
Drawing on the four fundamental principles for a common external energy policy - diversification of energy supply and sources, unity in defence of EU interests, solidarity in crisis situations and strengthened cooperation with the main producer countries, consumers and transit countries, the EP is on the initiative of the rapporteur, proposing: the appointment, with the Council and Commission's approval of a High Representative for foreign policy in energy under the authority of the new High Representative for the EU for foreign and security policy. The subsequent mission will be to coordinate all policies relating to common foreign energy policy; 2) that the Treaty on the Energy Charter becomes the “corner stone” of common foreign energy policy as it constitutes, according to the EP, the “main Community instrument”, which both promotes cooperation in the energy sector and ensures fair and equal treatment and security of investment, as well as guaranteeing a right to compensation in the event of expropriation and/or nationalisation. The EP is therefore calling on the Commission and Council to “firmly demand” the application of the said treaty and include the substance of its protocol on transit in all energy treaties and agreements with third countries. In this context and pointing out that the EU/Russia energy partnership can only be based on the principles of non-discrimination/equal treatment and equal market access conditions, the EP emphasises that ratification by Russia of the said treaty “would be a visible and tangible demonstration” of its commitment to reliable energy supply to the EU; 3) promoting the extension of the principles and standards of the internal market and EU neighbourhood policy. In this context, the EP is suggesting the extension of the Energy Community to other third countries, Moldavia, Norway and Ukraine, whose candidacies it supports, including Turkey's; 4) continued consultations between member states and Commission on strategic decision before concluding important bilateral agreements with third countries on energy projects that could affect the interests of other EU member states or the EU as a whole. The EP is also calling on the Commission and Council to work together to conclude agreements guaranteeing the neutralisation of all negative effects in the bilateral agreements that run contrary to the interests of the EU and its member states, particularly those on the environment. On this last point, it underlines the need for a detailed environmental impact study to be carried out before approval of major investments (and calls, in this context for consideration to be taken regarding the threat represented by the Nordstream gas pipeline project). Finally, the EP calls in the medium term, for the Commission to take responsibility for the institutional competency for negotiating EU framework agreements with third countries on security of supply, transit and investment; 5) the creation of a solidarity mechanism that enables the EU to intervene effectively and rapidly in crises due to cuts in supply, the deterioration of critical infrastructure or other causes.
The EP is also proposing: giving priority to all diversification projects creating new energy transport corridors; strengthening energy cooperation through dialogue and partnerships with supplier, consumers and transit countries; active involvement of non EU European countries such as Norway in external energy policy; the Commission and Council to actively inspect any oligarchic or monopolistic trends on the international markets, such as the risk of a gas cartel arising; that the Commission establishes annual reports on respect for the internal energy market rules regarding transparency and competition by third country companies. In this context, it welcomes the invitation by the European Council last March to the Commission, to assess the impact of vertically integrated energy companies from third countries on the internal market, as well as the way in which the reciprocity principle is implemented. It also welcomes the inclusion in the third legislative package for the internal market of provisions to predict uncontrolled investments from foreign public companies in the European energy sector, particularly for the transport networks for gas and electricity. (eh)