The 'gas crisis' underlines one of the fundamental weaknesses of European energy policy. Because of national interests, there is no real common European energy policy and efforts to create an internal energy market are also hampered by all kind of obstacles. At the informal Hampton Court meeting of EU leaders in October 2005, the UK presidency called for a stronger European co-ordination of energy policy. The Commission is expected to prepare a communication on elements of a European common energy policy for the March 2006 Spring Summit.
In their press conference following the Gas Coordination Group meeting on 4 January, Energy Commissioner Piebalgs as well as Austrian Economy Minister Bartenstein expressed their satisfaction about the Ukraine-Russia agreement and emphasised the need for more co-operation on energy policy. They stated that they continue to see Russia and the Ukraine as reliable energy partners. Commissioner Piebalgs also stressed improved dialogue with energy partners and said that Europe has to invest more in its own energy resources (energy efficiency measures, renewables and, possibly, nuclear).
