The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Charles Hendry)
I represented the UK at the Energy Council in Brussels on 24 November. Fergus Ewing, Scottish Minister for Industry, Tourism and Energy, also attended.
The Council began with a report by the presidency on the progress of discussions of the energy efficiency draft directive. Denmark noted that the directive would be a high priority for their presidency from January 2012.
There was a debate on the draft regulation on infrastructure. I expressed the UK’s support for the proposal and noted the need for better cross-border permitting procedures to create a fully integrated EU market, as well as the importance of regional groupings such as the North sea countries’ offshore grid initiative. A number of member states also registered their support for the proposal while noting the need for it to respect other areas of EU legislation, such as environmental rules and member state competence.
The Council agreed conclusions on external energy relations, following interventions by a number of member states. The Commission reported on a number of international relations items, including providing a brief summary of the latest situation on the southern corridor, negotiations with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan and with Russia.
The Commission gave a presentation of the draft regulation on offshore oil and gas activities. I welcomed the overall intention of the proposal to increase safety but expressed concern over the use of a regulation. Other member states expressed concerns.
Over lunch, Ministers discussed the effects of changes in member states’ domestic energy policies on their neighbours, continuing a similar discussion at the informal Energy Council in Wroclaw in September.
Denmark briefly outlined its plans for its presidency. Its energy priorities will be the energy efficiency directive and the 2050 energy road map.