The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) is impressed by the far-reaching new "Energy package" adopted today by the European Commission.   The package is part of a significant revision of the European Union's energy policy strategy. All aspects of the energy policy have been addressed, forming the basis for a credible and effective piece of legislation.

Anne Laperrouze (MoDem, France), ALDE shadow rapporteur on this file, welcomed the fact that energy security and solidarity are at the heart of the SSER (Second Strategy of European Energy Review) and also praised the 2050 vision, which she has been fighting for over a long time.  "The expertise is there, and what we need is the EU to harness it in planning our energy policy.  One could regret that research, which is seen to be a major element for the 2050 vision, is not strongly enough represented in the framework of the EU energy security and solidarity action plan."

Sarunas Birutis (Darbo partija, Lithuania) added: "I welcome the Second Energy Review presented today by the Commission and in particular the emphasis that was given to EU energy solidarity and security. It meets the concerns of several countries and would help them to cope with a possible energy crisis. I am happy to see that special attention was also given to help some isolated member states to develop their energy interconnections, through the proposed revision of TEN-E and the possibility of additional EU financial instruments".

Energy efficiency is now being recognised as one of the solutions to the economic crisis   

Fiona Hall

The Commission in its package acknowledged that additional and more urgent measures need to be taken with regard to energy efficiency. It is a very positive step that the draft recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) proposes a removal of the 1000m2 threshold and requires all refurbished buildings to be subject to the directive, as requested by the European Parliament in 2007. A good proposal for Fiona Hall (LibDem, United Kingdom) who said: "This new Energy Package, with its strong emphasis on energy efficiency, comes at a crucial moment for the European economy. Energy efficiency is the cheapest and most cost-effective way of reducing CO2 emissions and energy dependency, as well as being the best way to fight rising energy poverty. Energy efficiency is now being recognised as one of the solutions to the economic crisis. However, I am concerned that the projections in Annex 1 of the Strategic Energy Review are inconsistent with the Commission's support elsewhere for energy efficiency. Figures in the SER suggest a fall of only 12% in primary energy demand by 2020 compared to baseline projections -and a fall of only 8% compared to actual primary energy demand in 2005".

Regarding the TEN-e review, Anne Laperrouze, who has been rapporteur of the European Parliament on the guidelines for the 2004 enlargement, declares: "from the start, the EP supported the concept of a project of European interest and fought for the creation of European coordinators to facilitate some of these projects facing problems. Now the EP must convince the Council to improve and secure the networks as these infrastructures play a critical role in many aspects, not the least in terms of security of supply and solidarity."

Concerning the infrastructure within the TEN review, the Commission also adopted an action plan for the development of wind energy along the coast waters. Lena Ek (Centerpartiet, Sweden), ALDE coordinator amid the Industry and Energy committee, comments: "Offshore wind energy has great potentials. The focus in the Commission Action Plan on risks and barriers to the development of this technology is thus very welcome. There is no doubt that we must identify measures to reduce these risks and barriers. Finding new solutions when it comes to areas like grid infrastructure, financing and environment will speed up the development of offshore wind energy".