Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-01-17-Speech-2-154"
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"en.20060117.19.2-154"2
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".
Mr President, I should like to thank Parliament for finding time today to debate the security of energy supplies and particularly gas. In a way, it is a continuation of the debate we had on high oil prices last year. The current price of oil is more than USD 60 per barrel.
This external energy dimension should be based on a diversification of different energies, as well as on different energy sources, routes, suppliers and transit networks. There is a clear need for more investment in LNG terminals, in gas pipelines for diversification of supplies and gas storage facilities.
While the EU has been engaged, via its technical assistance programmes, in promoting the development of new supply routes, and upgrading and enhancing existing routes, it is clear that other major energy consumers also take a very proactive and political approach to this issue. Europe will have to learn some lessons here, although one should not underestimate the complexity of this task.
There are also, of course, the internal aspects of an EU energy policy to consider: firstly, the need to ensure that an internal EU-wide energy market is a practical reality. There is still some way to go to achieve a real internal market in both electricity and gas. Then there is the need to facilitate the necessary infrastructure investments required to ensure that the various national energy markets in the EU can really become more integrated. Here it is important for us all to recognise that this calls for the necessary means also to be provided including, where necessary, financial support.
We also need to ensure that sufficient policy and financial support is given to research in priority areas and to ensure that more efficient energy technologies, including cleaner coal and renewable energy technologies, can penetrate the market. We need more actively to pursue policies and measures that can achieve real energy savings and efficient use of energy and thus diminish our external dependency.
We have adopted ambitious legislation. Now it is time to implement it.
Finally, we need to improve energy security measures to enhance the solidarity mechanisms to face the challenges of possible disruptions to energy supplies. One should keep in mind that this particular dispute, as it affected the EU, was resolved in a very short time, but we must be prepared for longer-lasting disputes.
In conclusion, this dispute has again been a real wake-up call for us all. While it is true that energy is just a commodity, it is a commodity that is fundamental for our continued economic development and wellbeing. We must learn the lessons from this episode, which I will sum up as a need for a common European energy policy. This policy needs to be clear, coherent and effective both internally and externally, corresponding to the goals of security of supply, competitiveness and sustainability.
The gas dispute between Ukraine and Russia triggered the debate on the security of supply to the European Union. The gas dispute hit the headlines at the beginning of this year when Russia stopped its supply to Ukraine for a day and a half. That also had an impact on the EU through a reduction in the amount of gas reaching the European Union.
While it is reassuring in the short term that an agreement was reached between Ukraine and Russia, we must be under no illusions. The issue has not gone away. Commercial negotiations between the two sides will continue in order to find a price adjustment formula that is mutually acceptable. We have also seen the repercussions internally in Ukraine, with the vote of no confidence in the government last week. Nor must we forget that the gas price dispute between Russia and Moldova was resolved only yesterday, with more detailed negotiations in the near future. I firmly believe that everyone needs to learn the lessons from the events at the beginning of the year.
So, what are the lessons the EU should draw from this dispute? Firstly, in the context of this particular dispute, the EU was, and should be, proactive. We not only maintained close bilateral contacts with both parties throughout the dispute but also urged them to resolve this dispute. While it is evident that the EU could not and should not take sides, we made it clear to both sides that it was in their strong interest to come to an agreement rapidly. In such a situation it is very important to have close cooperation between the Council – in particular the Presidency – and the Commission.
Secondly, the dispute has underlined the usefulness of the energy dialogues with Russia and Ukraine. Those dialogues have provided us with the contacts necessary to impress our concerns and views upon both parties in a framework of mutual trust and common interest. At the same time, it clearly underlines the need to give greater momentum to dialogue.
Thirdly, this dispute has underlined the importance of and the need for a clearer, more cohesive and proactive EU-wide energy security policy. While it is true that the Commission and Parliament have argued for this for many years, the time is now right to make real progress on this.
I should like to stress the importance of developing a common approach to energy, which was highlighted at the Hampton Court informal summit and in the meeting between the Presidency and the Commission at the start of the Austrian Presidency. In his speech today, the President-in-Office clearly indicated the importance the Presidency attaches to this particular issue and that many concrete and clear proposals have been made.
During the crisis we witnessed a certain lack of transparency in the European gas market that has made it quite challenging to monitor and assess accurately how this shortfall was being handled. The 2004 directive concerning measures to safeguard the security of gas supplies, once fully transposed, should assist. Addressing those kinds of issues is one of the objectives of the energy market observation system which is under development in my services.
More generally, this incident has thrown into sharp focus our increasing dependency on external energy supply. The necessity of adopting and developing a common EU approach will be addressed in a green paper on energy policy that the Commission is currently preparing. Clearly, the development of a common approach to the external energy dimension will be a fundamental element in the green paper."@en1
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