About: security of supply Archives

"Within a single generation, we can give Europe a truly sustainable energy system," writes EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs in a February paper for the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies.

Even if the EU is successful in building a low-carbon economy with a strong portfolio of renewables, dependence on energy imports will remain high and requires "management", according to a draft of the European Commission's second strategic energy review seen by EURACTIV. 

Soaring demand, high oil prices and a "delayed supply response" from exporting countries have driven up natural gas prices in the past 18 months, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which warns that the situation is unlikely to improve in the short term.

Top officials at the Commission and one of Central Europe's largest oil and gas groups yesterday (2 July) called for progress to be made on the Nabucco project, which aims to reduce Europe's dependency on Russian gas supplies. But they warned that its realisation would depend on "foreign policy scenarios".

Fear has spread across the globe and people are beginning to act on impulse to tackle issues such as the food crisis, so it is time to start using our heads, argues Norbert Walter in a 16 May commentary for Deutsche Bank Research.

Russian energy giant Gazprom has secured further pipeline deals with individual EU member states and announced its ambition to move into the UK market this week, casting further doubts over the EU's ambition to "speak with one voice" on external energy matters.

Ukraine has agreed to settle a debt of $2 billion owed to Gazprom, calming EU fears about a possible repeat of the January 2006 gas supply crisis caused by a payment dispute between the Ukraine and the Russian energy giant.

Five southern European countries and the Commission signed a declaration on 3 April 2007 to build a pipeline to bring oil from the Black Sea to central European markets by 2012, in a move aimed at reducing the EU's energy dependence.

EU leaders have agreed to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by up to 30% within 13 years but the real battle will be in convincing the world's other big polluters to follow suit, according to business leaders.

As lawmakers of more than 20 countries meet in Washington to discuss climate change and energy security, the US Congress is abuzz with legislative proposals to reduce American greenhouse-gas emissions.

The power failure of 4 November 2006 that affected more than 15 million households in various parts of Europe was the result of a lack of security measures within the network administered by E.ON, a report finds. 

Contrary to expectations, US President George W. Bush's energy and climate-change policy will not drastically alter. His promise to reduce US petrol consumption by 20% in ten years hinges on major technological breakthroughs.

The new Democrats majority in the US Congress has Europe speculating about a possible American U-turn on energy and climate-change policy. Is the US preparing for its own 'energy revolution'?

The Commission's energy and climate change package, presented on 10 January, received a lukewarm welcome in industry and NGO circles. EURACTIV provides a comprehensive positions overview.

The latest issue of the German journal Foreign Policy in Dialogue focuses on Europe's efforts to form a common energy foreign policy from the perspectives of Germany, Poland, France and Lithuania.

European citizens know very little about the importance of energy policy in their daily lives and do not see the need for research on energy efficiency, according to a Eurobarometer survey presented on 8 January 2007.

By 2020, the EU should reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% and produce 25% of its primary energy through renewables, according to a report adopted by the European Parliament on 14 December.

The Commission moves to strengthen energy ties with Mediterranean neighbours as Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs pays a visit to Algeria.

The 30 October EU-Russia Energy Dialogue Conference and a new report by the High-Level Group Competitiveness-Energy-Environment demonstrate that energy issues have become the EU's number-one priority.

Europeans should change their light bulbs, switch off TV's and computers, drive 'green' cars and insulate their houses to reach the Commission's ambitious target of 20% energy savings by 2020.

The European Union and Japan have warned Russia that its suspension of an environmental permit for the Sakhalin-2 liquid natural gas plant could jeopordise good relations and future investments.

Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and Norway's Minister for Petroleum and Energy Odd Roger Enoksen focused on energy savings and security of energy supply during their EC-Norway Energy Dialogue Meeting on 15 September.

The announcement that new oil production has been succesfully tested in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico was hailed by experts as proof that oil has not yet reached its peak production, but many questions and concerns remain.

Europe should lead the new global energy agenda and take a "quantum leap in the production of renewable and low carbon energy", according to EU energy commissioner Piebalgs.