College of Commissioner to Adopt Energy Union Strategy in 1 Month, Says Šefčovič
European energy policies are unsustainable in every sense of the term, European Commissioner for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič said on Monday, adding that ten percent of European households are energy-poor.
In his speech at the Extraordinary ITRE Committee Meeting, Šefčovič said that the European Commission is working to ensure security of supply despite geopolitical instabilities. He confirmed that the College of Commissioner should adopt the Energy Union Strategy in about a month, adding that Europe will soon come up with a strong energy diplomacy too. A strong single voice would allow Europe to get the message through, the Slovak Commissioner suggested.
“The current geopolitical situation on our eastern border, however unfortunate in itself, has put Europe's energy security even higher on the agenda” the Commissioner commented.
The solution presented by Šefčovič on Monday hinges on five pillars: i. supply security, ii. single internal energy market, iii. energy efficiency, iv. decarbonisation, v. investments in research and innovation for renewable energies.
According to the European Vice-President, only concerted efforts will bring to these results. In this context, Foreign Affairs will play a key role in enhancing Europe’s supply security.
“Let’s inject more transparency in the opaque gas contracts and, together with HR Mogherini, let us design an assertive and coherent energy diplomacy at the EU level.”
Šefčovič did not explicitly mention Russia, but the reference was quite easy to read.
SINGLE INTERNAL ENERGY MARKET AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
According to Šefčovič, regional cooperation agreements will bring down technical and regulatory barriers among Member States, which will then translate into European integration.
“Our energy system is fragmented into 28 national silos and some parts of our continent are still insufficiently integrated in the energy system” Šefčovič said.
Additionally, energy efficiency will allow Europe achieving its goals. The European Commission is expected to present fresh actions to support investments, and the Slovak Commissioner did not forget this point.
“I was struck by two meetings I recently had: in the first meeting I was told that 90% of our housing stock is energy inefficient. In the second meeting, some private investors told me they are eager to invest in energy efficiency in the building sector. Let’s take action to connect the dots.”
DECARBONISATION AND RENEWABLES
At the end of his speech, Šefčovič reiterated the importance of a Market Stability Reserve, asking all the negotiators to be ambitious. He also said that Europe should decarbonise the transport sector.
“The Energy Union should be the world number one in renewables. This means – inter alia – accelerating our efforts to decarbonise the transport sector, a sector with a growing share of GHG emissions.”
Sergio Matalucci
Sergio Matalucci is an Associate Partner at Natural Gas Europe. Follow him on Twitter: @SergioMatalucci