IP/06/765 “An external EU energy policy cannot work without strong commitment to the internal market“, says Energy Commissioner Piebalgs

Brussels, Belgium – At the World Gas Conference in Amsterdam, Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs addressed the growing role of gas in both EU and world energy supply. He underlined the increasing importance of LNG (liquefied natural gas), the need for a stable regulatory framework for infrastructure investment and the compatibility of supply security and competition. The EU is currently developing a new energy policy, which for gas is based on three pillars: encouraging investment, a coordinated EU approach and international cooperation.

“For a joint external approach we first need to make sure that the EU has a common internal approach and a common view. For a successfully functioning EU energy market in terms of security of supply as well as competition we therefore need strong commitment for a competitive internal market instead of protectionism, and enhanced cooperation instead of one-sided national responses to supply problems,“ said Commissioner Piebalgs.

The Commissioner underlined the need for regulatory stability to attract investment, and the need to cut down on the administrative process, especially for strategic investments. Concerning international cooperation, he pointed out that suppliers are equally dependent on consumers for their revenues as consumers are dependent on suppliers for their energy. The Commission will therefore continue to develop international relations, based on mutual trust, for example through the Southeast European Energy Community and the Energy Charter Treaty.

The World Gas Conference is organised every three years by the International Gas Union, the biggest non-profit organisation in the field of gas with affiliated gas companies from 67 countries. This year‘s conference focused on three themes: regulation, the role of natural gas in power generation and renewable energy generation. The conference attracted around 4000 representatives of the gas industry from all over the world.