Out Law: Europe needs single energy policy and regulator say manufacturers

The European Union needs a single energy policy and a single energy regulator if it is to protect its economy, a European manufacturing lobby group has said.

The trading bloc should also promote the exploration and exploitation of shale gas, according to the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT). It should further rethink its carbon emissions trading system (ETS) and prioritise the development of a 'smart grid', using new technology to create a more cost effective system for delivering energy to consumers.

"The uncertainty over energy prices and supply means lower investment will have a serious impact on Europe’s industrial performance,” said ERT head Leif Johansson according to the Financial Times. "We need a European energy policy and a single European regulator.”

Johansson, who is also chairman of pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca and telecommunications giant Ericsson, made his comments at a meeting of the ERT in Brussels, where he warned that the lack of a coordinated energy policy is putting the European economy at risk. Ten of the 73 recommendations the lobby group made to German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president François Hollande and European Commission president José Manuel Barroso focused on energy issues. “Energy was the highest up on that list of recommendations,” said Johansson.  MORE