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European Union
MEMO/09/490
Brussels, 4 November 2009
Q&A: EU-US Energy Council
What is the EU-US Energy Council?
The EU-US Energy Council will be a formal framework for deepening the
transatlantic dialogue on strategic energy issues of mutual interest.
It will also be the platform for cooperation on energy policies and
research collaboration on sustainable and clean energy technologies.
Given that the EU and the US are two of the world's consumers of
energy it is in the interests of both to deepen their bilateral energy
cooperation to address the growing challenges of global energy
security, sustainability and climate change.
How will the EU-US Energy Council work?
Members of the council will be on the EU side the Commissioners for
External Relations, for Energy and for Science and Research, as well
as the EU Presidency, and on the US side, the Secretaries of State and
of Energy. It is expected to meet annually, alternately in the EU and
U.-S, and report to the EU-US Summit.
The EU-US Energy Council may decide to delegate preparatory work and
follow-up to working groups at senior official level, which should
meet regularly and report to the EU-US Energy Council. Furthermore,
subgroups at working level may also be established in order to tackle
specific issues as appropriate. Areas expected to be covered are
Global Energy Security and Global Markets, Energy Policies and Energy
Technologies Research Cooperation.
What does the European Commission expect from this new dialogue
structure?
The Commission's objectives for the Energy Council are:
* to develop the transatlantic perspective on global energy
security, including transparent energy markets, diversification of
supplies, vital energy infrastructure needs, and equitable access
to energy in developing countries,
* to embark on a deeper exchange on energy policies, including areas
that are critical within the climate change equation, such as
renewable energy, Carbon Capture and Storage, and energy
efficiency;
* to work together towards the mutual/reciprocal opening of funding
of R&D energy programmes across the Atlantic;
* to deepen ongoing joint research and development of low carbon
energy technologies and to broaden cooperation to new areas, in
particular on smart grids, energy efficient building technologies
and new materials for energy applications.
* Start new EU-US cooperation on promotion and dissemination of
existing and expanding energy technology.
Where does this initiative comes from?
The US and the EU have a long history of cooperation on energy
policies (through our Strategic Energy Review) and on energy R&D
(under our Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation). The
new Obama administration has opened new opportunities for further co
operation.
Concretely, the proposal to set up an EU-US Energy Council was
officially tabled in June 2009 via a letter that Secretary Clinton's
special envoy for Eurasian Energy questions, Ambassador Morningstar 1
sent to Minister Fule, HR Solana, the President of the Commission as
well as Commissioners Ferrero-Waldner, Piebalgs and Potocnik. On 16
September the EU provided a common response suggesting areas of work
under three main headings, namely Energy Policies, Global Energy
Security and Global Markets and Energy Technologies Research
Cooperation.
Will the EU-US Energy Council discuss climate change issues?
While the EU-US Energy Council will not be a forum for climate change
negotiations, the policy issues of energy and climate change are
intrinsically linked. Enhanced consultation on energy matters will
thus underpin the common efforts to tackle climate change and, where
appropriate, the EU-US Energy Council would complement the
multilateral work on transformational energy technologies, such as
under the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate.
Do the EU and U.S. already cooperate in energy research?
Under the Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation
between the European Commission and the US, well-established and
successful cooperation occurs on biofuels, carbon capture & storage,
solar power, and hydrogen-fuel cells. In the international context,
the EU and US are leading partners in both the International
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) nuclear fusion project and
in efforts to develop safe and efficient fourth-generation nuclear
fission reactors. Importantly, several individual EU Member States
also pursue bilateral activities in energy technology research with
the U.S.
In the context of the new EU-US Council, the cooperation on existing
areas such as solar power, hydrogen and fuel cells, bioenergy, carbon
capture and storage and nuclear energy, both fusion and fission, will
continue and deepen. In addition, this cooperation will be extended
within the next years to new strategic areas in order priority
sectors: smart grids, energy efficient buildings and advanced
materials for energy applications.
Has the Commission other similar structures with other countries?
In the field of research in energy, there is no similar council.
The longest-running and best established bilateral energy dialogue is
the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue. There is also cooperation with key
energy producers: Norway, OPEC, Gulf Cooperation Council, and with
countries of Central Asia, as well as key transit countries like
Ukraine and Turkey. Memoranda of Understanding on energy security have
been signed with Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Egypt,
another with Iraq is close to signature. There are formalised
relations with the countries of the Western Balkans and some of the
eastern neighbours through the Energy Community Treaty, as well as
close Euro-Mediterranean cooperation with the countries of the
Mashreq/Maghreb. The EU also maintains strong relations with other
major consumers such as China, India, Japan bilaterally, but also
through organisations such as the IEA, the Africa-Europe Partnership,
and ASEAN.
1 :
From 1999 to 2001 Ambassador Morningstar served as U.S. envoy to the
EU and he is thus quite familiar with the workings of the European
institutions.
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