Main focus of Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Brussels proposes a plan in matters of energy

This Wednesday, January 10th, the European Commission is due to present an 'action plan for energy efficiency', aimed at guaranteeing the future of energy in the EU while fighting global warming. Europe is seeking to multiply the sources of its energy supplies and even considering a return to nuclear energy.

Libération - France

The daily considers that the Commission's objective to reduce carbon gas emissions is like a pious prayer. "In a nut shell, we can say that the air is warming up, that relationships with Russia are freezing and that the European Union remains magnificently tepid", comments Gerard Dupuy with some irony in his editorial. "Russia's pressure on hydrocarbon supplies in Europe is certainly not just circumstantial. ... The arm wrestle has only just begun. Europeans find themselves in the apparently contradictory situation of seeking new sources of energy supplies whilst explaining that this energy should be spared. The Commission is proposing more economic growth and less CO2 at the same time. One can only applaud, even if economic growth has hitherto never been anything but energy-consuming". (10/01/2007)

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Frankfurter Rundschau - Germany

The EU's plans to depend increasingly on atomic energy do not represent a sound solution for Europe's energy problems, says Vera Gaserow. "Nevertheless, the EU has well-known accomplices: climate protection and supply security. In discussions about atomic power, the Russian pipeline may serve as a welcome alarmist. But the current situation reveals that Europe's energy policy must protect itself from dependency on one raw material and one country. However no national policy of self-reliance can stop potential blackmailers. After all, the necessary uranium is not a home-grown product. No, the only way to prevent dependency on energy providers is through a broad mix of energy, diversification of providers and a functioning market that takes into account that Russia or the Arab oil states want to sell their politically instrumentalised treasures." (10/01/2007)

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La Voix du Luxembourg - Luxembourg

"According to a European Commission survey, nearly one in seven Europeans considers that energy issues are crucial", notes Thierry Labro in his editorial. "And when Europeans do take any interest in energy, almost one out of two like to think that their government will guarantee that the prices of petrol, gas and electricity are as low as possible. What José Barroso, President of the European Union, is about to do will no doubt escape their understanding at first. ... Global warming is causing concern. Ecological catastrophe probably disturbs the dinner conversation of a few families now and then, but not to the point of modifying individual behaviour. However, without such individual responsibility being taken, the best action plans in the world are bound to fail." (10/01/2007)

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