Drawing on lessons from the recent gas supply crisis, the EU Industry Committee has set out wide-ranging recommendations for the EU's future energy policy in a report published on Wednesday 21st January. This advocated emergency action plans, more grid interconnections among Member States and new climate targets to be achieved by 2050, including raising the share of renewables to 60 percent of total consumption.

The committee adopted, by a large majority, a report drawn up by French Liberal Anne Laperrouze (ALDE, FR) on the ‘Second Strategic Energy Review’, which will be on the agenda for the 19-20 March European Council debate on the EU's future energy strategy.

The committee has now called on the European Commission to propose revising the 2004 Security of gas supply directive before the end of this year. The committee wants this revision to include ‘mandatory and effective national and EU emergency action plans’ including:

- A common declaration of an emergency situation,
- The allocation of available supplies and infrastructure capacity among the affected countries,
- Co-ordinated dispatching, and
- The activation of emergency measures in unaffected or less affected states in order to increase the amount of gas available to the affected markets.

More details.

•Date:22nd January 2009• Region: Europe •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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