Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-25-Speech-2-410"
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"en.20070925.35.2-410"2
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"Madam President, I welcome very much the initiative of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and in particular the chairman, Mr Saryusz-Wolski, to propose a report on a common European foreign policy on energy. Recent developments have confirmed that this is a very timely initiative. The report serves to underline the growing importance of energy issues in the Community context, particularly the external aspects and the importance of the European Union speaking with one voice on external energy issues.
I do, however, favour more involvement by Parliament and I will examine the suggestions proposed to my colleagues in the College to determine what, in practical terms, the Commission can do to address the concerns raised.
Finally, with respect to the substance, the Commission intends to press ahead with the work in which we are engaged since early last year and which reflects most of the priorities identified in the report, in particular, on the feasibility study to examine the existing legal arrangements in the EU if its neighbours’ energy sectors fall short, and how to strengthen them.
Equally, it is important to put concrete proposals on the table on reciprocity, and I welcome the fact that your report recognises the importance of reciprocity measures aimed at protecting our internal energy market.
This is a very timely report, both politically and also in terms of substance. The Commission has been actively working over the past year and a half to reinforce the EU’s external policy on energy and, as the report recognises, there have been a number of significant achievements.
However, we do need to go further and I therefore fully support the call in this report for concrete provisions in the Treaties that will lead to the creation of a common European foreign policy on energy.
With energy security, we are talking about the security of our economies and our way of life. As the EU is becoming increasingly dependent on imports of energy, it is crucial that we have a coherent and focused response to the challenges that this presents, not least in our relations with our major external energy suppliers. This has already been reflected in the Commission’s latest package on the internal electricity and gas markets, and I very much welcome your appreciation of the proposal.
I can also announce that the Commission will be a holding a rapid and in-depth review of the wider aspects of the EU’s external policy in energy and that we will definitely make the results of that work public.
I would like to thank the Committee on Foreign Affairs and particularly the chairman, Mr Saryusz-Wolski, for taking this initiative and for giving Parliament an opportunity to debate this extremely important issue for Europe, and I look forward to continuing our cooperation in the future.
I appreciate that the report clearly highlights that substantial progress has been made over the past year by the European Union and its institutions towards the goal of speaking with one voice. This includes the establishment of the Network of Energy Security Correspondents (NESCO), in addition to the existing gas coordination group and oil supply group. NESCO has been active since the early summer, which has permitted a very useful and early exchange of energy information between Member States.
However, an earlier exchange of information on planned initiatives by particular Member States would still be highly welcome. Therefore, as the report underlines, a lot still remains to be done.
The call for a suitable Treaty basis for energy and energy security is particularly important and timely, as is the call for concrete provisions in the Treaties that will lead to the creation of a common European foreign policy on energy. I very much welcome this approach, including the proposal from the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy that the principles of the common energy policy be included in the EC Treaty at the forthcoming intergovernmental conference, so that there will be a solid basis for joint action in the energy field directed towards third countries.
I also note that the Committee has reflected further on the proposal on how to anchor external energy policies more firmly both in the Commission and the Council. We will need to reflect further on this important subject.
I believe that this version of the report is also balanced geographically, recognising the importance of enhancing our energy relations not only with our eastern neighbours but also with our Mediterranean, Middle East, Asian and other partners.
I already enjoy the genuine energy partnership with the United States but I do believe that we can achieve more in this area. I also believe that we need to continue to work with like-minded energy partners, such as Norway, Canada and Australia, to strengthen the consensus on the value of open, transparent and competitive international energy markets.
Recognising the value of the Energy Charter Treaty, I agree with the Committee that Russia’s ratification would be very important. However, at the same time I firmly believe that the principles of the Charter also need to be included in a robust energy agreement within the framework of the post-PCA agreement with Russia.
I do have a practical concern about the number of reports that it is suggested that the Commission should produce. I know that each of them per se is important but I believe that most of the issues raised will be covered in the framework of the regular review of the Energy Action Plan or are already covered in the Commission’s annual reports on the application of competition law."@en1
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