Energy: organisation of cooperation around agreed Community objectives

The Committee welcomed the Commission’s initiative. In its specific comments, the Committee took account of the framework for cooperation and the objectives pursued by the proposal. In this respect, the Committee believed that, if the compatibility of national energy policies with the agreed energy objectives was to be verified, there would, in the future, need to be a clearer and more precise definition of how this cooperation, exchange of information and joint examination of national energy policies would be established and maintained. It backed the aim of increased transparency of action in the energy sector through the regular publication of a report on energy policy developments at Community and MemberState level in relation to the agreed objectives. This report would serve as a basis for evaluation and adjustment of the energy objectives. The lack of a common energy policy or greater cooperation in the energy sector resulted in duplication of Community and national measures. Since national energy policies and Community energy initiatives were complementary, they should be viewed as a whole as their effectiveness depended on their coordination with each other. The Committee therefore believed that, in addition to defining Community energy objectives, their practical implementation was just as crucial, as was the definition of the instruments required as a result.