The Parliament: Risk of EU energy supply failure on the rise
Events in Ukraine have propelled energy security back to the top of the EU’s foreign policy agenda. Russia’s actions have led to sharper consideration of the need for energy diversification, with Moscow closing gas supplies to Ukraine and the Russian gas exporter Gazprom ceasing exports to Ukraine in June. With both energy consumption and dependency on oil and gas imports growing - the EU’s 28 member states import over 53 per cent of their energy − the risk of supply failure is rising. For the EU, this has one clear implication: it cannot continue to depend on an unreliable energy supplier, which is using energy as a political tool. Securing European energy supplies is therefore high on the EU’s agenda. It must develop the alternatives necessary to stand up to Russia without worrying about its energy supply.
This was also one of the conclusions of the sixth EU-US energy council meeting in Brussels in the past fortnight with the goal of enhancing Europe’s energy security. The EU and the US agreed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in support of Ukraine’s new government and reaffirmed that energy should not be used as a political tool.
Energy security starts with an integrated energy market. Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has endorsed the idea, proposed to Maroš Šefčovič, of creating an energy union by establishing a specific a vice-presidential portfolio in the 2014 commission. Building a functioning energy market would bring enormous benefits for European consumers and manufacturing industries. Competition would lead to lower energy prices and all member states could profit from a diversified energy supply and enhanced security of supply. According to the commission, a fully integrated gas market could save Europeans up to €30bn annually.