Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-08-Speech-2-309"
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"Mr President, Commissioner, rapporteurs, ladies and gentlemen, Europe’s energy future must cope with two challenges. The first is ensuring a safe, sustainable, competitive supply via an effective, operational and interconnected network. The second is a transformation that is needed to combat greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
I would like to mention a number of them: the commercial use of CO
capture and storage, the doubling of the production capacity of the largest wind farms, the commercial maturity of photovoltaic or thermodynamic solar energy, sustainably produced second-generation biofuels, the introduction onto the public market of mechanisms allowing more efficient end use of energy in construction, transport and industry, the crucial advances in the energy efficiency of materials, biosciences and information technologies.
In February the Council, on the basis of the Commission’s guidelines, Commissioner, adopted conclusions containing a number of operational elements, which I will mention here. The first is the introduction and launch of the six industrial initiatives proposed by the Commission: wind, solar, bioenergy, CO
capture, transport and storage, electricity grids and, finally, sustainable nuclear fission. The measures also seek to support and encourage research, particularly in the field of energy efficiency, and the establishment of agreements between public authorities, industry and researchers with a view to supporting the objectives laid down in the Strategic Plan.
In conclusion, I wish to thank the Commission and the rapporteur for the work they have done until now and I hope that our positions on the internal energy market will converge at second reading.
On the first point, in particular, and in this area as a whole, I would like to highlight the progress made by the Slovenian Presidency, which resulted in the adoption of a general framework for the ‘internal energy market’ package as a whole at the June Council. The most important element of the compromise reached relates to the effective separation – and I stress the word ‘effective’ – of production and supply activities, on the one hand, from network operations, on the other. I will mention here the form of solution that the Council adopted
for the gas and electricity sectors.
Although several Member States and the Commission prefer full ownership unbundling, the Member States wanted to retain some flexibility, and the Council agreed to an option that provided for an independent transmission operator. This option would be available for the Member States whose transmission system belongs to a vertically integrated company on the date on which the directive enters into force. This option implies significant adjustments to guarantee the independence of the transmission operators in terms of decision-making, of course, but also financing.
It would seem that the mechanism adopted makes it possible to avoid conflicts of interest between the various bodies of an integrated company and to ensure a balance between the independence of the transmission operator, its development plan and its investment needs, on the one hand, and the financial interests of the parent company, on the other.
Special attention was paid in this respect to system development and the guarantee of a compromise that does not discriminate between system operators. The action of these operators will be monitored by the regulatory authorities. The role and action of the regulatory authorities will be reinforced by the establishment of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, which is long-awaited and whose creation was approved by the European Parliament last month.
I would like to highlight some of the other important elements of this ‘internal market liberalisation’ package: firstly, the crucial issue of infrastructures and the emphasis on the Europe-wide 10-year investment plan. This is a vital new element that should promote integration and modernisation.
However, another key aspect is investment by third countries in the transmission systems, which is very closely linked to energy security issues. We must find a pragmatic solution that is adapted to each case. The discussions in the Council are going on at this very moment and I am sure that they will result in a compromise that is acceptable to all the Member States.
The next stage, ladies and gentlemen, will be the confirmation of these general elements through the adoption of a political agreement on 10 October at the Energy Council, followed by the transmission of the common position in November or December. That will allow the discussions between our institutions in the context of a second reading to begin.
I would now like to move on to the second point. I believe that it is essential to establish a low-carbon economy, in which each Member State is of course free to choose the energy sources it wishes to use. The goals of, and investments in, this global transformation of the economy must focus on the long term and they pose numerous technological challenges for the next 10 years."@en1
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