| Author (Person) | Davies, Eric | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 2.4.00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 01/04/2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
At their meeting in Vienna on 27-29 March 2000, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to restore oil production to pre-March 1999 levels. With prices set to fall from some US$30 per barrel to between $20 and $25, Loyola de Palacio, EU Commission Vice-President responsible for Energy and Transport, said the decision was 'a step towards restoring ... prices that are more in tune with the market'. She also commented, however, that 'reducing this dependence on oil is an environmental necessity and a technological challenge the Union cannot duck'. Mrs de Palacio went on to say that 'the growing dependence of the European Union on energy imports calls for initiatives to improve the long-term security of its energy supplies ...' (Decision by the OPEC countries to increase production quotas: Commission continuing to monitor oil prices). OPEC Established in 1960, OPEC originally had 13 members, but now consists of the following 11 countries: Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela. The members of OPEC 'coordinate their oil production policies in order to help stabilise the oil market and to help oil producers achieve a reasonable rate of return on their investments. This policy is also designed to ensure that oil consumers continue to receive stable supplies of oil.' OPEC members currently supply more than 40% of the world's oil and possess some 78% of the world's crude oil reserves. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest producer of oil, currently supplying some 8 million barrels per day. It also has the greatest reserves of oil, with an estimated 260 billion barrels available. Other OPEC members have fewer reserves, but still have more than non-OPEC countries (for more details see the BBC's Q&A: Oil). EU energy policy There is no explicit legal basis for Community actions in the energy sector. Although energy was clearly the subject of both the 1951 European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) Treaty and the 1957 European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) Treaty, national energy policies are still the preserve of individual Member States. Concerns over energy have instead been expressed through policies on the environment, the internal market and external relations. The 1973 oil crisis persuaded the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to establish the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 1974. However, it was not until 1983 that a meeting of the Council of Ministers responsible for energy agreed that the European Community should seek to develop its own policy on energy. In 1988 the Commission published a report on the Internal Energy Market (COM (88) 238), which sought to combine energy-related initiatives into a single programme. A 1995 White Paper - An Energy Policy for the European Union [COM(1995)682] - set out the Commission's thoughts on how an energy policy might be developed, ahead of the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on revision of the Treaties. The Treaty on European Union [pdf] which resulted from the IGC did not, however, include a chapter on energy, although it did include 'measures in the spheres of energy, civil protection and tourism' within the activities of the Community. The Communication from the Commission of 23 April 1997 on an overall view of energy policy and actions advocated an integrated approach to energy. The move towards an integrated approach is reflected in Council Decision 1999/21/EC adopting a Framework Programme for actions in the energy sector (1998-2002) which aims to meet the following objectives:
The Energy Framework Programme has six elements:
According to the EU's ATLAS website, 'renewable energy can play a major role in furthering a wide range of EU policy goals. Development of a successful EU renewables sector would make a useful long-term contribution to diversity, security and self-sufficiency of energy supply. In addition, as low environmental impact is one of their main benefits, renewables could play a leading role in mitigating the environmental effects of energy use, since almost all the technologies covered in this section offer major reductions in harmful emissions compared with fossil fuels.' Energy research Concerns over energy supply focus on both short- and long-term security. In the short term, governments want to ensure that they can overcome difficulties associated with factors such as unexpected cold weather, price fluctuations or industrial action. In the long term, energy policy must address the inevitable depletion of traditional energy sources. The 1973 oil crisis provided an incentive for research into alternative energy sources. More recently, increasing consumption of finite resources, concerns over the environmental impact of fossil fuels and questions over the safety of nuclear power have given further impetus to the development of alternative sources of energy. Under the Fifth Framework Programme (1998-2002), research into energy falls largely within Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (EESD). The aims of EESD are to 'develop sustainable energy systems and services for Europe and contribute to a more sustainable development world-wide, leading to increased security and diversity of supply, the provision of high-quality, low-cost energy services, improved industrial competitiveness and reduced environmental impact.' The energy subprogramme is known as ENERGIE and has two Key Actions: Cleaner Energy Systems (including renewable energies), and Economic and Efficient Energy for a Competitive Europe. There is a separate programme for nuclear energy. Since 1973, according to the Commission, the road transport sector has increased its share of energy consumption from 18% to 40%. Research into transport is carried out under the Competitive and Sustainable Growth Programme: Key Action 1 - Innovative products, processes and organisation - is concerned to minimise resource consumption; Key Action 2 focuses on sustainable mobility and intermodality; Key Action 3 deals with land transport and marine technologies. Further information within European Sources Online
Further information can be seen in these external links: EU Institutions
Eric Davies The European Commissioner for Transport, Loyola de Palacio, has called on the EU to to do more about the security of its energy supply despite the decision of the OPECD Member States in March 2000 to restore oil production to pre-March 1999 levels. |
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| Subject Categories | Energy, Politics and International Relations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
