Maroš Šefčovič - Vice-President for Energy Union
Astana, 25th Meeting of the Energy Charter Conference
Prime Minister, Excellency's, Secretary-General Rusnak, ladies and gentlemen,
It
gives me great pleasure to have the opportunity to address this
distinguished audience at the occasion of the annual Energy Charter
Conference here in Astana.
First of all, I wish to congratulate
the Government of Kazakhstan for being a successful chair of the
Conference this year, in fact the first country that has ever
held the chairmanship of this Conference. Thank you for your work and
commitment, and thank you for organising this great gathering. Let us
hope that it will be an inspiring day that will give us the chance to
exchange views and information on our understanding of what global
energy security means to each and every one of us and how it can be
achieved.
On the Energy Charter
Today is
already day 2 of this Conference. Yesterday, the Statutory Session was
held at which the actual work was done by looking back on the
achievements of the past year and looking forward to the challenges for
coming years. I have been informed that yesterday's session has been a
very productive one. No wonder, taking into account the important issues
on the agenda.
First and foremost, the meeting took note of the
important progress made in updating the existing European Energy
Charter. Under the leadership of the Secretary General, the negotiating
parties have reached agreement on a new 'International Energy Charter'.
This new Charter will be an opportunity for new countries to become
engaged in the Energy Charter process and to use it as a stepping stone
to becoming full-fledged parties to the Energy Charter Treaty. I look
forward to the special Conference to be organised next spring in The
Hague by the Netherlands at which the new text will be formally adopted
and signed.
2014 has been a special year for the Energy Charter:
this year the functions and the effectiveness of the Energy Charter
Treaty have been reviewed. The result of this review has now been laid
down in Conclusions and in a new Astana Roadmap which lays out the
course of the Energy Charter for the coming years.
The Charter is
an economic alliance between countries with different cultural, economic
and legal backgrounds which are united in their commitment to achieve
common goals: to provide open energy markets, to stimulate cross-border
investment and trade in the energy sector, and to assist countries in
transition in developing an effective institutional and legal framework
for energy.
My message today is that the European Commission is
fully committed to making the realisation of these goals a success. The
Commission will continue to work in close cooperation with the EU Member
States and all contracting parties and signatories to ensure that the
new Charter and the Energy Charter Treaty continue to be regarded as
corner stones of global energy architecture.
On the Energy Union
The
subject of today's Ministerial Session is the relevance of transit
corridors for global energy security. It could not be more topical. The
events in Ukraine show the world that peace, stability and security
cannot be taken for granted.
In addition, we all know very well
the complex environment and the new realities in the global energy
markets. Several of them represent serious challenges to all of us. Let
me point them out to you:
- Europe's dependence on fossil fuel imports is increasing. The increasing indigenous production of oil and gas in some parts of the world is leading to a widening gap between industrial energy prices, in particular with the US.
- Within the EU, energy bills for EU consumers are rising. This is in part due to the pressure of rising global demand on resources, but also to the costs linked to an ageing infrastructure and national decisions on tariffs, levies and taxes.
- Climate change is another problem that will not go away, as highlighted once again in the recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It says that recent emissions of greenhouse gases are the highest in history.
Given all
the challenges ahead of us, the European Commission's new President,
Jean-Claude Juncker, has made clear his intention to give priority in
the coming years to the construction of a resilient Energy Union with a
forward looking climate change policy.
The choice of Energy as a key priority for the next five years has also been agreed by the EU leaders last June.
In
the new Commission, I have the honour and the responsibility to bring
forward this very important priority for the European Union.
What are my ideas for doing this?
I
want to build an Energy Union aiming at affordable, secure and
sustainable energy. I will also work to ensure a more holistic approach
to energy across different policy areas covering also climate,
transport, industry, research, the digital economy and agriculture. They
are all crucial for my project.
Fortunately, some important bases for a future Energy Union have already been laid down:
First
of all, we have a policy framework for climate and energy for 2030
agreed at the highest political level by the European Council. This
framework is built on three targets: a binding EU target of at least 40%
domestic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions; a binding EU target of
at least 27% for the share of renewable energy; and an indicative target
at the EU level of at least 27% is set for improving energy efficiency.
The
new EU targets represent one of the most ambitious commitments to
combat climate change. It is an important step to provide more certainty
to our investors and will contribute to the promotion of jobs and
growth in Europe.
Second, we have a European Energy Security
Strategy in place to enhance our energy security. This Strategy has been
welcomed by the European Council only last month.
And third, we
have made substantial progress towards the achievement of the EU's
internal energy market. Our efforts towards this common goal are not
new. All efforts must now be mobilised to bring this objective to full
completion.
Ladies and gentlemen,
With all this in mind I
have defined five pillars which will contribute to Europe's
competitiveness and economic growth. They are the following:
The first pillar would be built on security, solidarity and trust.
Europe
needs to join efforts to be able to push for fairer prices and more
balanced market conditions. Europe is the biggest energy customer in the
world and for that we pay more than € 400 billion a year to 3rd country suppliers.
The EU needs to speak with one voice to construct more assertive European energy diplomacy. To this end:
- Europe should better coordinate its messages to resist undue pressure from third countries and avoid market distortions. As agreed by the European Council in October, Member States should duly inform the Commission on intergovernmental agreements with third countries in the field of energy, and seek its support throughout the negotiations.
- Europe should increase cooperation with its neighbours with a view to better integrate their respective markets. This would apply to so called candidate countries and also to Mediterranean countries which we met in Rome last week with a view to relaunching the Euro-Mediterranean energy cooperation.
- Europe should also explore the common purchasing of gas while respecting the relevant competition rules and the rules of the World Trade Organisation.
- Within the EU, we need to strengthen policy coordination among us: no Member State should modify its energy system without prior consultation of its partners or without analysing the potential consequences for those partners. An Energy Union must aim at deepening cooperation and integration between the Member States.
- To increase competition and obtain better conditions, Europe should also continue the diversification of supply both as regards routes and sources. Therefore, we are working intensively on making the Southern Corridor, to get Caspian gas to Europe, a reality. Moreover, the development of LNG terminals opens new possibilities of imports.
The second pillar of Europe's Energy Union would be dedicated to the completion of a competitive internal market...
The
internal energy market should represent the backbone of the Energy
Union. Its completion is a prerequisite if we want to maintain the
competitiveness of EU industry and to secure affordable energy prices
for our households. This topic will be at the centre of the next Energy
Council to be held in December.
The completion of the internal
energy market will require increasing cross-border flows, more regional
cooperation and a better connected infrastructure.
Available EU
funds and the future EU Investment Plan can contribute to the financing
of these energy infrastructure projects. I have already started working
with the Commission's Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and
Competitiveness to present an ambitious investment package of which
energy will be a main component. This package will mobilise additional
public and private investment in energy networks, as well as in
renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The third pillar would be moderation of demand.
To keep our energy bills in check and improve our energy security, we need to moderate our energy demand.
We
know that improving energy efficiency will not only increase energy
security, but also enhance the competitiveness of European industries.
I
therefore fully support the European Parliament and President Juncker's
commitments to energy efficiency. The review clause included in the
2030 Framework offers us an important window of opportunity to set a
more ambitious energy efficiency target after 2020.
I will work
closely with my colleague Commissioner Arias Cañete to make sure that a
reliable and transparent governance system is developed to ensure that
the EU meets its energy policy goals, while fully respecting the Member
States' liberty to determine their own energy mix.
The decarbonisation of the EU energy mix would be my fourth pillar.
I
want to continue the successful reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. I
have already mentioned the binding target to reduce domestic greenhouse
gas emissions by at least 40% below the 1990 level, by 2030.
This
target will ensure that the EU is on a cost-effective track towards
meeting its objective of at least 80% reductions by 2050.
By
setting its level of climate ambition for 2030, the EU will now be able
to engage actively in the negotiations on a new international climate
agreement that should take effect in 2020.
Our aim is to make sure
that our international partners take comparable efforts. This will be
good for climate, but also for our companies, as we want them to compete
on a level playing field. And there are indeed promising signs from
third countries as shown by the political agreement of two weeks ago
between the US and China, those being the two countries that emit most
carbon dioxide.
I am also fully committed to maintain the EU's
global leadership in renewables technologies. The agreed target on
renewables at EU level will contribute to reduce the EU's trade deficit
in energy commodities, and reduce our exposure to supply disruption and
volatile prices of fossil fuels.
This commitment will also contribute to creating jobs in emerging sectors and sustaining growth in innovative technologies.
And this brings me to my fifth pillar: technologies
Further
investment in research and innovation is crucial, not only to achieve
the EU 2030 objectives, but also to sustain our economies and our
competitiveness.
These are the five building blocks on
which I believe we will be able to create a resilient Energy Union,
coupled with a forward-looking climate change policy. While we are
already working on these five pillars, it is my wish to engage in an
inclusive dialogue with the Commission's relevant partners being the
other EU institutions, Member States and also stakeholders on the key
priorities for an Energy Union.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I have
used my speaking slot to give you an outline of my ideas for building
an Energy Union. This Union will contribute to 'energy security', which
is the subject of today's session. The Union will be the focus of my
work in the new European Commission in the coming years.
To achieve energy security at global level definitely requires more actors than the EU alone. I am much interested therefore, to hear the views of the next speakers.
For now, I thank you for your kind attention.
