Brussels, 23/01/2009 (Agence Europe) - In the light of the recent Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute, it is more than ever necessary to develop a Community energy policy that ensures the security of European energy supplies. As far as oil is concerned, the EU must adopt concrete measures to ensure more effective use of this limited resource and seek alternatives, such as green energies, in order to reduce its energy dependence. Such is the message of the report by Herbert Reul of Germany (EPP-ED) on the oil challenges, adopted on 21 January by the European Parliament's energy committee.
In the context of the essential change that must be made to EU energy policy to combat growing reliance on external energy sources largely due to transport, the energy committee calls on the European Commission and member states to create incentives to encourage investment in the oil sector. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), this requires $355 billion annually up to 2020 to ensure European supplies. In order to stabilise oil prices, the IEA takes the view that it is indispensable to improve transparency of the market and in producer countries and to bring out a publication of production volumes and reserve levels each week. The energy committee also recommends stepping up efforts for the exploitation of non-conventional oil resources in order to contribute to diversification. Furthermore, it states that the negative impact oil production together with methods of extraction have on the climate should be reduced, and that fuel emissions used for transport should also be decreased. The Reul report stresses the importance of the Arctic region, a producer zone with one quarter of the world's reserves, and calls on the Commission to step up dialogue with producer countries to resolve political obstacles, protect the environment and adopt common security measures. In order to reduce the EU's energy dependence, the energy committee also calls for measures to be taken to reduce its oil consumption. It suggests to this end that strategic reserves be created and stresses the importance of making new alternative energies available (biofuels, synthetic or renewable fuels) for SMEs and for the transport sector. The energy committee states its conviction that the growth in oil demand for transport may only be reduced in the medium and long term if member states also take measures to ensure that goods are transported by other, more environmentally-friendly modes of transport such rail and inland navigation, and if public transport and bicycles are used in urban areas. Finally, the energy committee places emphasis on the need to intensify and improve good neighbourly relations with transit countries. It calls for the inclusion of infrastructure to be studied in relation to oil in the Trans-European Energy Networks (TEN-E), given the growing dependency on outside sources. Finally, the Reul report encourages the Council to be involved in international military security operations intended to put a halt on the growing incidence of acts of piracy, which threaten international shipping and the transport of oil in particular. (E.H./transl.jl)