About: Energy Policy for Europe

EU adviser: Energy Union should take ‘holistic approach’

Europe's energy policy is no longer based on a difficult balance between competitiveness, sustainability and security of supply. It has now become a holistic project which includes all these dimensions in a multi-disciplinary approach, argues Jean-Arnold Vinois.

Solvay CEO: ‘We badly need a European energy policy’

Lack of access to affordable energy is the key driver behind the slow erosion of competitiveness in the European chemical sector, warns Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, who urges policymakers to reach agreement on a genuine European energy policy.

Ruete: ‘We need quick decisions’ on the energy package

The Commission's Director-General for Energy and Transport, Matthias Ruete, spoke with EURACTIV on 28 September concerning the Commission's efforts to create an internal market for energy in the EU. Ruete was upbeat about the creation of more European companies in the sector, despite efforts by some member states to create 'national champions', and hopes that EU legislators will agree quickly on the different aspects of the Commission's third energy package in order to attract crucial investments. Matthias Ruete is Director-General of the Energy and Transport Directorate at the European Commission.  

French energy regulator: ‘Commission cannot be judge and party’

Commenting on the European Commission's third energy package, Philippe de Ladoucette, president of the 'Commission de régulation de l'énergie', the French energy regulator, says that he is in favour of an EU agency for cooperation between European energy regulators. He spoke to EURACTIV France in an interview.

‘Russia cannot do without European energy market’

Following the failure of the May EU Summit in Samara, the Kremlin's withdrawal from the CFE Treaty suggests a further deterioration in dialogue between the EU and Russia. In an interview with EURACTIV France, Thomas Gomart, Russian programme director for the Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI), reconsiders the possibility of a new energy relationship.

Polish ambassador on EU Treaty, energy and Russia

Poland’s newly appointed Permanent Representative to the EU, Ambassador Jan Tombi?ski, explains his country’s position on EU institutional reforms, the Russian ban on Polish meat, the Baltic pipeline and the EU's future prospects, 50 years after the Treaty of Rome was signed.

Andris Piebalgs: The Commission’s energy package

In an exclusive interview with EURACTIV, Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs says that new energy and climate-change proposals should lead to higher prices for consumers. But paying 5% more now will avoid much steeper price hikes in the future, he argues.