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This snapshot taken on 07/08/2007, shows web content selected for preservation by The National Archives. External links, forms and search boxes may not work in archived websites.
The Energy landscape in Europe changes continually. The challenges now facing us at the European level are different to those we faced even 5 years ago and they are considerable: how to ensure that our energy policy is flexible enough to respond to the global environment, whilst ensuring there is a stable regulatory framework that gives sufficient certainty to the market; how to achieve our climate change and carbon reduction goals; how to ensure security of supply, against a backdrop of potential instability and political manipulation in some key supplier countries; and how to deliver competitive energy prices.
Since October 2005, when under the UK's Presidency of the EU, Heads of State recognised these challenges, there has been intensive work by the Commission and Member States to agree an EU energy policy to meet them.
In February 2006, the UK submitted a paper on "A European Approach to Energy Policy" setting out the UK's broad vision for a European approach to energy policy as: Reliable, affordable and sustainable energy for Europe.
On 8th March 2006, the Commission published a Green Paper on a European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure. It identified six areas where Europe could work together on energy. These are:
The Commission consulted extensively on the Green Paper over a period of six months. One of the proposals in the Green Paper was for a regular EU Strategic Energy Review, covering the issues identified in the Green Paper and constituting a stocktake and a flexible action plan on European Energy. Heads of State and Government agreed to this recommendation at the 2006 Spring European Council and asked the Commission to put forward an Energy Action Plan for discussion at the 2008 Spring Council.
The Commission published its first Strategic Energy Review on 10 January 2007, along with a number of supporting documents underpinning some of the proposals in the SER. It was published alongside the Commission’s Communication on Climate Change, ‘Limiting Global Climate Change to 2 degrees Celsius - The way ahead for 2020 and beyond’. The SER elaborates a number of the proposals outlined in the Green Paper to help the EU address the challenges of climate change, vulnerability to imported hydrocarbons and promoting growth and jobs.
The main proposals in the SER include objectives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the EU and internationally; targets for renewable energy and biofuels; ways to improve the functioning of the internal electricity and gas market; the need to strengthen the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme; priorities for action to improve energy efficiency based on the EU's Energy Efficiency Action Plan of October 2006; a commitment to increase by 50% EU spending on energy-related research; and plans to encourage construction of 12 demonstration plants for carbon capture and storage.
Key elements of the SER were discussed by EU Ministers at the Energy Council in Brussels on 15 February 2007 when discussion focused on effective unbundling of gas and electricity network operators, in the context of the single gas and electricity market, and on targets for renewable energy and biofuels. The Council adopted Conclusions on an Energy Policy for Europe, highlighting priorities for the period 2007-2009. These conclusions form the European Energy Action Plan agreed by Heads of State and Government at the Spring European Council of 8-9 March.
Discussion at the Energy Council in Luxembourg on 6 June focussed on the internal energy market and particularly on the issue of unbundling. The debate will help inform the Commission's new legislative package on the internal market, due in the autumn 2007.
Press releases outlining discussion at the 15 February and 6 June Energy Councils and the agreed Conclusions can be found under 'External Links' where Lord Truscott's statement to Parliament reporting on the 6 June Council can also be found.
The conclusions of the 8-9 March Spring European Council can be found under 'External Links'.
In the European Union, energy policy is discussed at Ministerial level at the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (also known as the TTE Council). There is usually at least one meeting of this Council relating to energy every Presidency. During the recent German Presidency, two TTE Councils to discuss energy issues took place. The next Energy Council, under the Portuguese Presidency, will take place in Brussels on Monday 3 December 2007.
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