Europe Energy articles from March 25 2009

Europe Energy archives from March 25 2009

FRANCE'S ENERGY MARKET UNDER SCRUTINY.
March 25, 2009... France's energy market is in the spotlight with the European Commission extending, on 10 March, an investigation into regulated electricity tariffs given to certain large and medium-sized companies. The in-depth investigation started in June...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY : FINAL OUT FOR INCANDESCENT LIGHT BULBS.
March 25, 2009... The European Commission finally adopted, on 18 March, two ecodesign regulations concerning household lamps as well as office, street and industrial lighting products. This last step of the comitology procedure brings to an end the long process...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY : EXPERTS BLOCKED ON ENERGY REQUIREMENTS FOR FRIDGES.
March 25, 2009... On 13 March, experts in the Ecodesign Regulatory Committee (ERC) remained unable to reach agreement on energy efficiency standards for compression, absorption and other types of refrigerators. Defining refrigerators' energy efficiency for the...

EU/US : EU TROIKA PRESSES OBAMA TO SET MORE AMBITIOUS CLIMATE TARGETS.
March 25, 2009... The United States needs to set more ambitious mid-term targets for tackling climate change, a top-level EU environmental delegation, in Washington from 15-17 March, has stressed. While US President Barack Obama has pledged to reduce US...

EUROPEAN COUNCIL/CLIMATE CHANGE : EU OPTS FOR "TACTICAL" WAIT-AND-SEE ATTITUDE.
March 25, 2009... The EU's heads of state and government decided to adopt a "tactical" position, postponing to the June European Council any decision on the financing of climate change adaptation measures for the developing countries (LDCs). After the failure of...

EUROPEAN COUNCIL/RECOVERY PLAN : EU LEADERS FINALLY AGREE ON 5 BN EURO ARRANGEMENTS.
March 25, 2009... The European Council hammered out an agreement on the financial arrangements for the 5 billion European economic recovery plan, on 20 March in Brussels. Funds will be committed in 2009 and 2010. The negotiations with the European Parliament can...

EUROPEAN COUNCIL : EU LEADERS CALL FOR ENERGY CRISIS RESPONSE MECHANISM.
March 25, 2009... The European Council returned to the issue of energy security, on 19 and 20 March. EU leaders called for a new crisis mechanism to deal with disruptions of supply. This should aid European countries in the event of Russia once again cutting off...

BIODIESEL : EU INDUSTRY CLAIMS VICTORY OVER US COUNTERPART.
March 25, 2009... The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), bringing together major biofuels producers in the EU, welcomed the publication by the European Commission, on 12 March, of a regulation applying countervailing and anti-dumping duties, ranging from 211 to 237...

GAS : EU GAS CONSUMPTION SLIGHTLY UP IN 2008.
March 25, 2009... Preliminary figures released by Eurogas, the European Union of the Natural Gas Industry, indicate that total natural gas consumption in the EU27 increased by 2.1% in 2008, compared to 2007, reaching 517 billion cubic metres (BCM).aEurogas...

POLLUTANT EMISSIONS : EP WANTS STRICTER SUPERVISION OF POLLUTANT EMISSIONS.
March 25, 2009... Pollutant emissions from industrial installations must be further reduced, according to the European Parliament, which is nonetheless asking for the new directive on integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) to be applied more...

ENERGY MARKETS : EP LETTING GO ON OWNERSHIP UNBUNDLING.
March 25, 2009... Discussions between MEPs and the Council of Ministers on the EU's third legislative package to liberalise energy markets are now in their final stages. The crucial issue of ownership unbundling, or whether to separate ownership of energy...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY : ENVIRONMENTALISTS DEMONSTRATE AT ECODESIGN COMMITTEE.
March 25, 2009... National experts in the Ecodesign Committee faced a demonstration by environmentalists when they met to discuss energy efficiency requirements for home appliances, on 12 March. Friends of the Earth and other environmental organisations were...

ENI NOTIFIED OF CHARGES.
March 25, 2009... In a communication dated 18 March, the European Commission confirmed that, on 6 March, it sent a letter of formal notice (the first stage in an infringement proceeding) to Italy's Eni Group. In its letter, it notes that the management and...

EIB LOAN FOR RESEARCH IN DENMARK.
March 25, 2009... On 9 March, the European Investment Bank granted a loan of DKK600 million (80.4 million) to support the research and development programme of Denmark's Grundfos Group. The RDI activities of Grundfos aim to increase environmental friendliness,...

EIB LENDING IN ALGERIA AND TUNISIA.
March 25, 2009... The European Investment Bank (EIB) signed, on 13 March, a letter of intent for the loan of up to 500 million to MEDGAZ, a consortium of Algerian and European companies, for the first direct gas pipeline between Algeria and Europe. Under the...

CLIMATE CHANGE : ECOFIN COUNCIL REMAINS VAGUE ON AID FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.
March 25, 2009... Just as the environment ministers who, on 2 March, discussed in vain the very same subject for hours on end, the EU's finance ministers, meeting in Brussels on 10 March, failed to clearly define the financial structure that the EU will propose...

EBRD FUNDS SUSTAINABLE ENERGY IN BULGARIA.
March 25, 2009... The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a 15 million loan for Bulgaria's UniCredit Bulbank. The sum is intended to finance on-lending to private industrial companies in Bulgaria so as to finance energy...

EU/US : DISMAY IN WASHINGTON OVER NEW ANTI-DUMPING DUTY ON BIODIESEL.
March 25, 2009... United States trade officials and industry representatives have, unsurprisingly, not taken kindly to the European Commission's 12 March decision to impose anti-dumping duties on US biodiesel exports to Europe. "We regret the decision [ ] we do...

EXTERNAL RELATIONS COUNCIL : DEVELOPMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE REQUIRE EXTRA FUNDS.
March 25, 2009... Climate change is harming efforts aimed at achieving the Millennium Development Goals (sustainable development and poverty reduction) and could have a serious impact on security issues, EU foreign affairs ministers stressed as they insisted on...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY : COMMISSION TO CONSULT ON VOLUNTARY ICT EFFICIENCY GOALS.
March 25, 2009... The European Commission adopted, on 12 March, its communication on mobilising information and communication technologies (ICT) for energy efficiency. This will be followed, in the second half of 2009, by a recommendation setting out concrete...

ENERGY/TELECOMMUNICATIONS : COMMISSION SETS TIMETABLES FOR ICT INPUT ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
March 25, 2009... In a communication published on 12 March, the European Commission sets out clearer goals for the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector to contribute to improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions. Whilst acknowledging...

OIL STOCKS : COMMISSION CRITICAL OF MEPS OVER ITRE REPORT.
March 25, 2009... DG TREN Director-General Heinz Hilbrecht was critical of a European Parliament report on a proposal for a Council directive on minimum stocks of crude oil. The report, by Miroslav Ransdorf (GUE-NGL, Czech Republic), was discussed in the...

CLIMATE CHANGE : COMMISSION CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE ADAPTATION MEASURES.
March 25, 2009... The European Commission will present, in early April, a white paper on adaptation to climate change. "Even if we do not yet have a clear idea of what we will have to face, we know that there is and will be a major impact, different depending...

EU ENERGY AGENDA.
March 25, 2009... European Commission 1 April 2009, Energy Taxation Directive 1 April. Meeting in Brussels, the Commission is set to adopt a communication on the review of the Energy Taxation Directive, a communication on the role of taxation in energy...

EU ENERGY AGENDA.
March 25, 2009... Council 19 February 2009, Brussels Energy Council meets. The Czech Presidency is aiming to achieve final agreement on the major elements of the energy liberalisation package first put forward in September 2007. Energy security,...

KONSTANTIN STASCHUS/ENTSO-E.
March 25, 2009... The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) has announced the appointment of Konstantin Staschus as secretary-general. This former managing director of VDN, the association of German electricity network...

EUROPEAN COUNCIL/ENERGY : LEADERS AGREE ON 5 BN EURO STIMULUS SPENDING.
March 25, 2009... Meeting at the European Council in Brussels, on 19-20 March, EU leaders agreed "in principle" on 5 billion spending for energy and rural internet projects (see separate article on the budgetary decision). The European economic recovery plan has...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY : MEMBER STATES ENDORSE STANDARDS FOR INDUSTRIAL MOTORS.
March 25, 2009... At the Ecodesign Regulatory Committee meeting, on 11 March, member states showed support for a draft regulation drawn up by the European Commission that would aim to reduce the energy use of industrial motors. The Commission claims the new...

MEPS GIVE GO-AHEAD TO ERDF REVISION.
March 25, 2009... The European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development adopted, on 9 March in Strasbourg, a report by Emmanouil Angelakas (EPP-ED, Greece) that gives MEPs' go-ahead for the revision of rules under the European Regional Development Fund...

EU/RUSSIA : MEPS SPELL OUT CONDITIONS FOR NEW AGREEMENT.
March 25, 2009... Russia's full compliance with the Sarkozy-Medvedev agreements, which ended the Georgia-Russia war in August 2008, and Moscow's total rejection of "use of force against any of its neighbours" should "be an indispensable condition for the...

ENERGY LABELLING : MEPS WANT ADS TO STATE ENERGY CONSUMPTION.
March 25, 2009... The European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) calls for amendments to the Energy Labelling Directive, notably stipulating that advertisements should indicate an energy-related product's energy consumption....

NESTE OIL JOINS ASFE.
March 25, 2009... The Alliance for Synthetic Fuels in Europe (ASFE) gained a new member, on 18 March, at the World Biofuels Market in Brussels. Finish multinational Neste Oil joined the alliance of automotive, technology and fuel supply companies focused on...

INTERVIEW WITH SEBASTIAN SASS, HEAD OF NORD STREAM'S EU REPRESENTATION : NORD STREAM CONFIDENT OF GETTING ALL CONSTRUCTION PERMITS.
March 25, 2009... Nord Stream's EU head Sebastian Sass is confident that the contentious Baltic Sea pipeline will finally complete its consultation procedure by the end of summer. He sees Nord Stream - a priority EU project under the Trans-European Energy...

ELECTRICITY : POWER FIRMS COMMIT TO BEING CARBON NEUTRAL BY 2050.
March 25, 2009... In a joint declaration, 61 CEOs of European electricity companies have committed to achieving carbon neutral power supply by 2050. The document was handed over to Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, on 18 March, at a meeting organised by...

GAS : RWE SALE OF TRANSMISSION NETWORK MADE BINDING.
March 25, 2009... The European Commission, on 18 March, made binding commitments by German gas company RWE to sell its entire Western German high-pressure gas transmission network. This formally closes the Commission's anti-trust proceedings against RWE that...

RENEWABLES : SMART ENERGY CITIES REITERATE 500 MN EURO CLAIM.
March 25, 2009... The renewable energy industry and three networks of cities called in vain for EU leaders to put back into the European economic recovery plan the 500 million earmarked for energy efficiency and renewables under the smart energy cities'...

OIL SUPPLIES : SUFFICIENT OIL FOR COMING DECADES, SAY MEPS.
March 25, 2009... Adopting a report by Herbert Reul (EPP-ED, Germany), on 11 March, MEPs note that there is sufficient oil for coming decades. The non-legislative report, effectively a joint EPP and PES resolution, was adopted by 471 votes in favour, 190 against...

EU/RUSSIA : UNION RESUMES ENERGY DIALOGUE WITH MOSCOW.
March 25, 2009... For the first time since the Russo-Ukrainian gas crisis that affected Europe, EU and Russian energy officials met to learn the lessons from this incident, inform each other on their energy policies and explore ways to improve their cooperation....