A “package” of commitments

Giving new impetus to energy policy; making the market more open and responsive to the needs of consumers; adopting “safeguards” for societies in third countries: the EU’s commitment to defining strategies for energy and environmental protection is continuing. These are issues that have in recent months assumed growing importance in Brussels and Strasbourg, as confirmed by the conclusions of the European Council in March. Now the Commission has launched a new offensive with its “third energy package”, though giving rise to negative reactions in various member states. DEFENDING CONSUMERS. “An open and fair internal energy market is fundamental if Europe is to tackle the challenges of climate change, growing dependence on imports and world competition”, said JOSÉ MANUEL BARROSO , President of the Commission, who has in recent times been working on the definition of new norms to “give further impetus to the energy policy” of the 27. The legislative proposals presented by the Commission on Wednesday 19 September comprise a Directive on electricity, one on gas and three regulations, including one that establishes a European Agency of cooperation between national regulatory authorities in the energy sector. This third package of provisions follows up the decisions taken during the summit of heads of state and of government in March and “places in the forefront the priorities of consumer choice, fairer tariffs, clean energy and security of supplies”. FREE COMPETITION. The Commission also aims to ensure that “smaller firms that invest in renewable energy sources have access to the energy market”. It wants that market to be “competitive” and enable it “to reinforce security of supplies, and promote investments in electric power stations and in transport networks”. “Over the last decade – explained the Commissioner for the energy sector, ANDRIS PIEBALGS – a lot of progress has been made in terms of a European internal energy market. Now we must complete the process begun and guarantee that the advantages of this market be effective and accessible to all concerned, whether private citizens or businesses”. BEYOND NATIONAL FRONTIERS. Many proposals have been made by the Commission in the energy sector: first, it calls for the “unbundling of production/distribution of energy, on the one hand, and ownership of transport networks on the other”. The package also includes “safeguards aimed at ensuring that companies of third countries, if they wish to acquire a significant interest in or control over a network in the EU, […] conform to the unbundling regulations” applied to EU companies. The new legislation – which the Executive would like to come into force by 2009 – also calls for the simplification of the trans-frontier trading of energy and the promotion of investments that cross national borders. It is also aimed at the reinforcement of solidarity: according to the Commission, “the rapprochement of national markets will permit member states to give each other mutual assistance in the eventuality of a threat to the security of supplies”. “USERS’ CHARTER”. The Barroso Commission, to guarantee the interests of consumers, also intends to introduce by 2008 a “Charter for energy users”, which would spell out their rights. “The Charter – says the Commission – will include provisions aimed at tackling so-called fuel poverty”, “information on available suppliers and on provisioning options, measures aimed at reducing bureaucratic formalities in the case of substitution of energy supplier and protecting citizens from dubious sales practices”. The Executive has pointed out that the proposed measures had already been announced in the Communication “An energy policy for Europe” approved by the European Council in March 2007. The document “underlined the need for the Union to define a new energy strategy with a view to a safer, more sustainable and low carbon emission economy”. UPHILL NEGOTIATION. Meanwhile, the first reactions to the Commission’s package of measures have emerged from a dozen or so member states, headed by Germany and France. They have expressed doubts about the guidelines indicated by the Commission and in particular about so-called “unbundling”, i.e. the separation between the production and distribution of electricity and gas, one of the main objectives of the “third package”. Some governments and big multinationals have declared their opposition to these measures. “France could assert its opposition to unbundling, by winning the support of other countries”, threatened CHRISTINE LAGARDE , France’s Minister of Economics. Barroso has recognized: “it will be a very difficult negotiation”.