Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-02-13-Speech-2-120"
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow, this House will be adopting a resolution in which we make a number of demands of the Council. In my capacity as rapporteur, I would like to take this opportunity of thanking my co-rapporteur, Mr Hughes from the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, for his cooperation, which has invariably been constructive, good and fair. He will shortly be presenting to you those parts of the resolution that have to do with employment and the objectives of better regulation, so I will concentrate on what our House expects of the Council as regards energy policy.
As Mr Barroso put it this morning, our credibility in the eyes of the public is conditional upon Europe holding together, and on that we agree with him. The Commission, the Council, and the Members of this House must all, equally face up to these European challenges; that is the only way in which we will be able to discharge our responsibility to the European public, to give them results, or, as the President of this House put it this morning, to be successful for the sake of our continent and serve the European Union’s people. I would like to add that I believe we should be conducting this debate in Brussels rather than in Strasbourg.
The most important thing that this House expects of the Council is plain for all to see; we want a strong single energy policy for Europe. It is the most urgent task for the Heads of State or Government to achieve real results at the Spring Summit, for it is by that that its success or failure will be measured.
A working single market in energy is not an end in itself. For a start, a single energy market is one of the great European projects. We want a European Union that produces results. If we can tell the public that it is European policy that has brought their constantly increasing gas and electricity bills back to a tolerable level, then that is good for Europe. The latest studies on the European energy market have again brought out the fact that we are miles away from a working internal market in energy, as Mr Lehne has already pointed out. Almost a decade after the first steps towards the liberalisation of the electricity and gas markets, a result like that is disappointing to say the least. First of all, then, it is in the interests of the public that we need the single energy market.
The second reason why a working single energy market is important is the competitiveness of our enterprises, particularly on the production side. No business should pay more than is fair and appropriate for the quantity of energy that it uses; we owe that to our enterprises and to the people who work for them. That is a means towards the end of increasing our competitiveness at home and abroad, which is one of the goals of the Lisbon Strategy, so the second reason why we need the single energy market is that Europe’s competitiveness requires one.
The third reason is that, in a market with functioning price signals, energy is used effectively, alternatives are developed, and savings are made. It is true to say that sometimes things have to be required as a matter of policy to get new paths opened up, and that is what we are doing with this report, in order – or so we hope – to achieve the climate protection goals using a European energy policy; about that, there is consensus in this House. Thirdly, then, we need the single energy policy for the sake of a Europe that faces up to its global responsibilities.
It is for that reason that, tomorrow, this House will be adopting a resolution, and I shall now read out to you a selection of the most important points one by one. Firstly, the electricity and gas distribution networks need to be managed and administered economically independently of the energy production process if the long-lasting failure of the electricity and gas market is to be brought to an end.
Secondly, as renewable energy helps to improve the security of energy supply, we urge that the proportion of renewable energy sources be increased to 50% by 2040. The European Parliament is committed to ambitious targets in energy research, and in all areas, whether conventional, renewable or nuclear. Europe is a front-runner in many areas of this field, and this role needs to be consolidated and built upon if we are to have a knowledge-based economic order. This House is in agreement with the Commission’s proposals on energy efficiency and the target of saving 20% by 2020.
We want to see a timetable for the 30% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2020, and we are also committed to the reform of the emissions trading system, while also calling for greater solidarity between the Member States in times of energy crisis.
Members have agreed across all party boundaries on the need for a single energy foreign policy, for energy issues must become a permanent feature of the European Union’s foreign relationships. I was delighted to hear the President-in-Office say that this is where Europe needs to speak with one voice, for that is precisely how we see it too."@en1
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