(07/06/06) Externe energiepolitiek EU moet beter en vooral breder

• 2006-06-07

Het document dat de Energieministers van de lidstaten bespreken op hun bijeenkomst op 8 juni 2006 houdt totaal geen rekening met de ecologische kant van het thema. De Europese Groenen hameren erop dat de beste waarborg voor een goed extern energiebeleid het besparen van energie binnen de Unie is. Hierover staat niets vermeld in de paper. Maatregelen voor de autoindustrie en bv. het invoeren van een kerosinetax zijn -tig malen beter dan discussie met de OPEC over het de oliemarkt en de prijzen. Het is niet realistisch om openingen te willen zoeken en houden in de buitenlandse energiemarkt zonder daarvoor iets terug te moeten doen.

Energy policy

EU must take a broad approach external energy policy

In advance of Thursday’s discussion by EU energy ministers of a paper on the foreign affairs implications of energy policy, proposed by High Representative for EU foreign policy Javier Solana, Green MEPs Claude Turmes and Rebecca Harms said:

“While any moves by the different EU institutions to streamline their policies are to be welcomed, the paper by Solana is blinkered and fails to address the key challenges faced by EU energy and foreign policy. It is also disturbing that the paper glosses over the environmental dimension of energy policy, particularly climate change.

“The most effective way of dealing with energy security is to focus on reducing our energy consumption, so it is disappointing that the paper fails to mention energy efficiency and energy saving. Given energy wasted by badly-designed Russian buildings accounts for the same amount of gas as all Russian exports to Europe, improving the efficiency of Russian buildings should be a central plank of EU-Russia energy dialogue but it continues to be ignored.

"The continuing preoccupation with supply alternatives prevents the development of a more comprehensive approach to energy. Setting mandatory fuel-efficiency standards for the handful of global car companies and introducing kerosene taxation for aviation are much more important initiatives than any discussions with OPEC on markets and prices.

"The overall approach, which displays a preoccupation with accessing external energy resources but without offering anything in return, is not realistic. Seeking access to Russian gas fields without offering Gazprom access to the EU retail gas market will not fly. The EU must consider options like ‘risk sharing’ agreements if it is to compete for external energy resources."