The energy challenge is one of the greatest tests faced by Europe today. Rising energy prices and increasing dependence on energy imports jeopardise our security and competitiveness. Key decisions have to be taken to slash our emissions and mitigate climate change. Huge investments will be needed in the next decade to make Europe’s installations and infrastructure fit for the future.
To this end, the "Energy 2020 strategy" provides a solid and ambitious European framework for energy policy, defines the energy priorities for the next ten years and sets out the action to be taken.
Solar roof panels are an increasingly familiar sight.
Energy efficiency is a central objective for 2020 and:
- key to achieving our long-term energy and climate goals
- the most cost-effective way to
Electricity and gas are transported in grids and pipelines that often cross national borders. The energy policy decisions made by one country inevitably have an impact on other countries.
Measures to ensure the free movement of energy on the EU market help citizens and businesses in many ways:
- competitive, more reliable prices
- more choice for consumers
- greater security of supply
- security for investors in new renewable technologies and infrastructure.
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A functioning internal market with sufficient transmission and storage infrastructure is the best guarantee for security of supply, as energy will follow market mechanisms and flow to where it is needed. However, safety nets are necessary to protect vulnerable consumers, or at the time of a supply crisis. EU energy policy aims to protect European citizens from such risks.
Without a technological shift, the EU will fail on its 2050 ambitions to decarbonise the electricity and transport sectors. The Strategic Energy Technology (SET) plan sets out a medium-term strategy valid across all sectors.
Development and demonstration projects for the main technologies such as:
- second-generation biofuels
- smart grids, smart cities and intelligent networks
- CO2 capture and storage
- electricity storage and electro-mobility
- next-generation nuclear
- renewable heating and cooling
must be speeded up. EU researchers and companies need to increase their efforts to remain at the forefront of the booming international market for energy technology, and step up cooperation with non-EU countries in specific technologies.
The European energy market is the world’s largest regional market (over 500 million consumers) and largest energy importer. Several of the challenges facing the EU – climate change, access to oil and gas, technology development, energy efficiency – are common to most countries and rely on international collaboration. International energy policy must pursue the common goals of security of supply, competitiveness and sustainability. While relations with producing and transit countries are important, relations with large energy-consuming nations and particularly emerging and developing countries are of growing significance.
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Animation explaining how the market price of electricity is fixed in the EU.
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