Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-09-17-Speech-4-057"
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"Mr President, energy will definitely continue to be the focus of this Parliament for the next five years. At the same time, we have made good progress over the last five years in establishing a robust European energy policy with three goals: security of supply, sustainability and competitiveness.
We have also committed some funds for the southern corridor and particularly for the Nabucco project. We have launched a call for proposals. At this stage I cannot say whether this was successful or good enough but at least the invitation was made.
Desertec is also an industry-driven initiative that is currently at an initial stage. It sounds very interesting that we use the solar energy potential of Africa and transport it to the European Union, but we need some flanking measures for this project to materialise.
First of all, there is the technological development that we have supported for many years. A large concentrated solar power plant will be inaugurated this month in Seville. This is one technology that could be used for this Desertec project, and I believe that we would not have advanced so far in this technology without EU support.
Secondly, we need to work with partners because it is very clear that we cannot just say we will take your territory, we will put solar panels in and transport electricity to the European Union. There should be common ownership of these projects, if they are to happen at all. For this reason we will have a conference in October on using renewable sources together with countries from the Mediterranean and the Gulf. It is clear that for Desertec to be successful we need common ownership of these projects, otherwise there will be no successful outcome.
Last but not least, there is definitely the issue of interconnection. There are two types of interconnection that we need to separate. One relates to the philosophy and markets. We have supported the integration of markets in North Africa for some time. Progress has been made, but we need to strengthen these measures. The second type is physical interconnection with the European Union, using cables.
I believe that Desertec will come step by step. It will not be one big project but I believe there will be elements that could ultimately fit our objectives: clean energy for the countries involved and additional exports to the European Union.
We have also provided for commercial incentives. With the Renewable Energy Directive we have established the possibility for EU countries to invest in third countries and transport electricity to the European Union, and then the goal will also be fulfilled with energy produced in the third country.
That said, it is definitely difficult at this stage to give any timetable for Desertec. It is a new initiative, which is still in its infancy, and we cannot say Desertec is part of our security of supply strategy. It is a promising move towards a climate change strategy that we need to promote, but Nabucco is there for security of supply, and it is too early at this stage to rely on Desertec.
I would like to conclude that the best security of supply measures we can take are inside the European Union. This House has been a very strong supporter of energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is not only to do with climate change. It really is a very important element in the security of supply. I would say it is more important than Desertec and Nabucco, plus even South Stream and Nord Stream, combined. It really is the biggest element. Three legal instruments are being discussed with the Council, and I would emphasise that we need to be ambitious and successful with these.
On renewable energy, I am very grateful for the support of this House for the recovery plan, and I am quite positive regarding what I have heard about the applications for offshore wind energy. It seems that all the funds that were committed to support offshore wind energy will be committed. This is not only EU money because the overall envelope was roughly EUR 600 million, but the overall size of this project is EUR 4 billion, so industry is investing most of it. I believe this is a very good combination, as renewable energy also gives security of supply.
In achieving all these goals, the external dimension is extremely important for two reasons. Firstly, EU import dependency – currently, 50% of energy resources come from outside the European Union, and the trend is upwards.
Last but not least, I know that sometimes there is an issue about carbon capture and storage (CCS). CCS is usually needed for two reasons. One is as a global response to climate change but, from another point of view, we will also use coal and lignite for our security of supply. There has also been very good progress on applications for the financing provided with the recovery plan, so the recovery plan was successful, in my opinion. After announcing the results, we – the Commission, the Council and Parliament – definitely need to review how to channel EU funds to strengthen the European Union's security of supply. Many other steps will also definitely need to be taken to strengthen the security of supply of the European Union.
Secondly, issues related to sustainability. The climate change goals cannot be achieved anywhere in the world unless energy is produced more cleanly and used more efficiently. For this reason, dialogue with the producer, transit and consumer countries is crucial.
The two projects mentioned in today’s plenary are, in a way, complementary and at the same time fit well into the overall strategy.
First of all, Nabucco. I came from Baku yesterday, and we are definitely still on course to fulfil this project. We made a major breakthrough this July. An intergovernmental agreement was signed between four European countries and Turkey, which means that we could already take a final investment decision next year with a view to having gas supplies by 2014.
We have identified three sources that are ready to commit gas volumes. Firstly, there is Azerbaijan, where the final investment decision about Shah Deniz 2 should be made in the very near future, and then there are other fields, in Turkmenistan and Iraq, which at this stage are the biggest sources of supply.
Where are the difficulties? There are always difficulties related to the particular way we operate in the energy field and how a lot of producer countries are organised. In the European Union, projects are industry-driven, which means that there is always a very clear calculation of all the commercial risks. The countries that have the resources would expect more forward-moving decisions. That means, for example, the EU decides to build a pipeline, it builds a pipeline, and then we commit the gas. The philosophies are different. At the same time there is a clear understanding that EU companies are ready to buy the gas, and we are moving forward towards it.
I believe that the transit issue is more or less solved. We are still awaiting the ratification of the intergovernmental agreement, but I would not expect too many difficulties. Also, to facilitate buying gas from regions that have particular ways of selling gas, we are developing the concept of a ‘Caspian development corporation’ that would allow for reduced risks for companies buying gas, for example at the Turkmen border, or investing in areas where the political and economic risks are quite substantial.
We are well on track, and I believe this is a good example of cooperation between industry-driven projects with political support from the EU institutions."@en1
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