The European Commission must aim to reduce the bloc’s dependency on
gas in the long-term by using more efficiently and gradually phasing out
fossil fuel subsidies, according to a resolution adopted by the
European Parliament on October 25.
Specifically, MEPs called for the EU strategy for liquefied natural
gas (LNG) to make energy supplies more secure, cut carbon emissions and
deliver affordable prices.
“There are three great issues we dealt with in this report,” said rapporteur
Ándras Gyürk
(EPP, HU). “First, we need supply diversification, to show solidarity
with countries which are almost 100% dependent on a single supplier.
Next, completing the missing gas infrastructure is essential for
maximising the use of the existing LNG terminals and gas storage
facilities, and last but not least, without the much-needed
harmonisation of rules, procedures and tariff structures, the European
infrastructure will only be an empty vessel, unable to serve its
purpose.”
As regards Nord Stream, a natural gas pipeline through the Baltic
Sea, the MEPs warned it could have counterproductive effects on energy
security, the diversification of supply sources and solidarity among EU
member states.
MEPs also agreed that that trade plays a key role in energy security,
and that strong energy partnerships, reinforced by the inclusion of
energy chapters in the EU’s trade agreements, are essential tools. They
said that the “EU’s trade policy should enhance the Union’s and member
states’ energy diversification and reduce their dependency on imported
energy from too few suppliers.”
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/meps-call-reduction-eu-dependence-gas/