Informal Council of EU Energy Ministers discusses European Energy Action Plan for 2010-2014

Today, 15 January 2009, the Informal Council of EU Energy Ministers was held in the Spanish city of Seville which focused on the potential content of a new European energy action plan for 2010-2014 and the next steps in implementing the Strategic Energy Technology Plan.  

State Secretary Jochen Homann from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology said: "With the new action plan, the EU Commission and the Member States will have to agree on a binding set of commitments in all important areas of energy policy for the coming years. The action plan must provide an impetus to help us better reach our energy and climate policy goals. This includes ensuring a continued high level of supply security even if the EU's dependence on energy imports should rise. Against this background, key themes of the plan should be measures for enhanced energy efficiency, the promotion of innovative energy technologies and the development of energy infrastructure. With regard to the promotion of energy technologies, priority should be given to industry initiatives with a European dimension. These include in particular intelligent networks in Europe, also to better integrate renewable energies."

Discussions at the Informal Energy Council also focused on possibilities for increased EU funding of energy infrastructure. State Secretary Homann explained: "From our perspective, it is primarily the responsibility of companies to invest in energy infrastructure. The expansion of energy infrastructure should be market-driven. The network development plans set forth in the new legislative package on the internal market for gas and electricity provide regulators in the Member States with an important additional instrument which facilitates the expansion of the pipeline network."

At the Council meeting, the Spanish EU Presidency proposed to place particular emphasis on sustainable energy supply, energy security and external energy relations in the next stage of the development of the EU Single Market. The action plan is to be adopted at the European Council on 26 March 2010. It continues and further develops the first action plan passed under the German EU Presidency in March 2007.