The minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Change, Yiannis Maniatis, presented the priorities of the Greek Presidency in the field of energy today (22.1.2014), noting that they will be centered on three milestones for the development of the EU Energy Strategy:

1) the completion of the internal energy market by the end of 2014

2) the target of year 2015, by which time no Member - State will be left excluded from European gas and electricity networks and,

3) the expected International Agreement on Climate Change in 2015.

In this context, Maniatis stated that the Greek Presidency will promote EU policies on energy and climate change beyond 2020, based on the expected Communication of the European Commission's "Framework for the 2030 climate change and energy". A policy debate on the framework for 2030 has been scheduled to take place during the EU Energy Ministerial Council on the 4 March 2014, providing input to the discussions at the European Council of 20-21 March 2014. Our objective will be to reconcile the goals of competitiveness of the European industry, security of energy supply and sustainability, with the long term goals set for climate change. The necessity of the Framework is obvious for reducing uncertainty among investors, governments and citizens, but also for enhancing research and innovation in the sectors.

Beyond the Framework for 2030, the Greek Minister noted that the issue of energy prices and their impact on EU competitiveness constitutes the second priority, aiming at securing existing jobs and supporting actions to create new ones. The Greek Presidency, making best use of the relevant European Commission Communication, expected today, is planning a policy debate on the issue during the Energy Ministerial Council of 4 March 2014, which will pave the way for the adoption of related Conclusions during the Energy Ministerial Council of 13 June 2014.

The consideration of the energy cost issue from the perspective of cost for end-use households and especially vulnerable consumers is the third, equally important, priority of the Greek Presidency. The Presidency intends to give special priority in promoting activities and exchanging best practices that will enable consumers to fully benefit from the internal market and to exercise rights and options available to them, while ensuring adequate protection for vulnerable consumers. To this end, the Presidency will also give priority to energy-saving initiatives and the promotion of energy efficiency as appropriate measures to help reduce problems faced by vulnerable consumers and address the issue of energy poverty.

The issue of integration of the internal market is also a major priority. The Presidency, taking into account that broad public participation, as well as the satisfaction of social demands constitute dominant factors for the integration of the internal energy market, will seek to highlight the necessary actions in order to optimize the benefits of the integrated market.

“The issues of energy security and energy infrastructure, including interconnections of isolated and island regions, are priorities of special importance for the Greek Presidency. Therefore, during the Informal EU Ministerial Energy Council of 15-16 May 2014 in Athens, important developments on the diversification of sources and routes in the Union, such as the Southern Corridor, supplying the EU from the Caspian, the recent developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as the quick promotion of the Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) will be discussed” said the minister. Moreover, he announced that the international relations in the energy sector will also be discussed in the EU Ministerial Energy Council of 13 June 2014 and, in particular, the importance of multilateral international and regional co-operation, such as the Energy Community for South Eastern Europe and the Union for the Mediterranean; bilateral relations with Russia and USA; relations with international organizations, such as OPEC, IRENA etc. With regard to the indirect land use change and first and second generation biofuels (ILUC) Proposal, further possibilities will be explored, following recent failure to reach a political agreement during the last Council.