EU Energy Council, Luxembourg: 10 June 2011

Charles Hendry Excerpts

Wednesday 8th June 2011 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Charles Hendry)]

In advance of the forthcoming Energy Council in Luxembourg on 10 June, I am writing to outline the agenda items to be discussed.

The first item on the agenda will be a report on the state of play of the draft regulation on energy market integrity and transparency, on which the presidency is aiming to reach a first reading agreement between the European Parliament and the Council by the end of June. The UK supports the Commission’s draft regulation, which will increase market liquidity and confidence and enhance competition across the EU. We have made good progress in the negotiations and have found reasonable solutions to those areas which gave us concern.

The Council will then adopt conclusions on a Commission communication on an energy efficiency action plan. We broadly welcome the conclusions and expect them to be adopted without discussion.

The presidency will report on the debate that took place on the Energy Roadmap for 2050 at the Informal Energy Council in May in advance of the communication that the Commission is planning to issue in the autumn. There will also be a report on the state of play of the risk and safety assessment (“stress tests”) of nuclear power plants called for at the European Council on 24-25 March, following events in Fukushima. The UK is content with the scope of the test.

The Commission will then update the Council on a number of EU external energy relations issues. The Swedish delegation will present information to the Council on sustainability criteria for biomass and the Polish delegation will outline priorities for their forthcoming presidency.

Over lunch Ministers will discuss a Commission report on the investments that are likely to be needed for energy infrastructure in Europe. The UK agrees that measures must be taken to remove obstacles to infrastructure investment but that planning regimes are issues for member states to decide.