Off the wire
• Siemens to cut 7,800 jobs worldwide, 3,300 in Germany  • Interview: Ukraine crisis a failure of EU policy: expert  • Urgent: U.S. jobless rate unchanged at 5.7 pct in January  • Kenya introduces e-purchasing system to state-owned firms  • Eurogroup to hold extra meeting next Wednesday over Greece finances  • Cold weather causes chaos in Spain  • Officials without compliance with law not to be promoted  • French drug trafficker imprisoned for 18 years in Mauritius  • Philippine gov't to "run over" terrorist coddlers, Aquino warns  • Interview: Belgian SMEs "very popular" in China: Belgian ambassador  
You are here: 　 Home

EC vice president: Energy Union not to stop at EU borders

Xinhua, February 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Energy Union will not stop at the European Union's (EU) borders, European Commission (EC) Vice President Maros Sefcovic, in charge of the energy union, said at a conference in Riga on Friday.

Sefcovic said he was glad to see representatives of the EU's neighbor countries and the United States among the participants of the conference in the Latvian capital city.

"The European Energy Union will not stop at the EU's borders. We want to work in close cooperation with our neighbor countries," the EC vice president said.

He also indicated that the time had come to not only consider the creation of the single energy market, but also to implement the ambitious project declared by the EC as one of its top priorities.

The current drop in energy prices provides a great opportunity to invest in renewable energy to reduce dependence on oil and gas supplies, Sefcovic said.

It is also necessary to ensure that the energy union has a positive effect on businesses and individual consumers, he said.

"I hope that this is a moment when we are moving away from 28 various energy policies in the EU and towards one common policy," Sefcovic said in the conclusion of his speech.

Latvian Economics Minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola said in her opening remarks at the conference that the creation of the energy union is one of the priorities of the Latvian presidency of the Council of the EU.

A lot has been done already, but plenty of work still lies ahead, the Latvian minister said, calling for constructive discussions on what could be a difficult issue.

The Latvian minister noted that the management of the energy union should be regionally based.

"Regional cooperation, not regional fragmentation, is essential for the union's management," Reizniece-Ozola said, adding that the union's creation has to be regarded from the standpoint of sustainability, security, and competition.

The conference on the creation of the European Energy Union, which takes place in Riga on Friday, has brought together EU energy ministers, representatives of EU institutions and international bodies, scientists and other energy policy makers.

Latvia is holding the conference as the current EU presidency. Endit