Towards a common European foreign policy on energy

The Council adopted the following conclusions as its contribution to the next Spring European Council (8 and 9 March 2007), which is expected to adopt a prioritised Action Plan for an Energy Policy for Europe.

As regards international energy policy, the development of a common approach to external energy policy has to be speeded up, involving consumer-to-producer as well as consumer-to-consumer and consumer-to-transit countries, dialogues and partnerships including through organisations such as OPEC. To that effect, the Council emphasises the following as essential elements when further developing the "single voice" of the EU in support of the three energy policy objectives:

• negotiating and finalising a post-partnership and cooperation agreement with Russia in particular relating to energy issues1;
• intensifying the EU relationship with Central Asia, the Caspian and the Black Sea regions, with a view to further diversifying sources and routes;
• strengthening partnership and cooperation building on the bilateral energy dialogues with the USA as well as with China, India and other emerging economies, focusing on the reduction of GHG, energy efficiency, renewables and low-emission energy technologies, notably CCS;
• ensuring the implementation of the Energy Community Treaty, with a view to its further development and possible extension to Norway, Turkey, Ukraine and Moldova;
• making full use of the instruments available under the European Neighbourhood Policy;
• enhancing energy relationships with Algeria, Egypt and other producing countries in the Mashrek/Maghreb region;
• building a special dialogue with African countries on energy and using Community instruments to enhance in particular decentralised renewable energies and generally energy accessibility and sustainability in this region, as well as energy infrastructure of common interest;
• promoting access to energy in the context of the UN-CSD.