Europe is constantly in the headlines, but the focus is increasingly different: from the continent’s mostly Europhile media, to the Europhobic face of the media groups most supportive of Brexit.
Today we celebrate Europe Day, and we should remember that this day commemorates the Schuman Declaration, a commitment named after the French foreign minister of the time, Robert Schuman, which paved the way for the integration of European states by proposing that the coal and steel production of Germany and France should be jointly administered. This commitment meant the creation of the first European Community, the European Coal and Steel Community, which is the origin of the present-day European Union.
And from the very outset, energy has been (and continues to be) a key focal point of the real Europe. One of the EU’s main challenges at the moment is what is known as the Juncker Plan, which seeks the creation of a genuine European Energy Union.
In this context, the natural gas sector plays an essential role within the European energy map. This is a key sector, and one in continuous evolution in order to achieve excellence through the accomplishment of three priority goals, in line with those set out by the Juncker Plan: strengthening security of supply, increasing competitiveness, and continuing to work on energy efficiency and emission reductions.
For this purpose, the EU has set in motion its climate and energy strategy for 2020–2030 focusing on the geopolitical factors associated with the EU’s energy dependence.
Dependence on external energy sources has two main consequences: the need to guarantee supply, and the high cost of importing energy. Consequently, the European energy security strategy requires greater interconnection as a means of achieving truly competitive pricing and to increase security of supply in Europe.
Which is why the interconnection, interoperability and development of pan-European gas transmission networks are necessary factors to stimulate the creation of a true internal energy market, for which a special effort is required of countries that have not achieved a minimum level of internal market integration, such as Spain, Portugal and the Baltic Countries.
This internal energy market will also lead to the greater convergence of gas prices between European countries; in other words, prices that are more in line with the market, which would enable greater transparency in transactions.
These three major challenges (security of supply, competitiveness and sustainability) were analysed at the 5th International Foundation for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (Funseam) Symposium, held in Barcelona in February and which I was fortunate to attend.
