Spring European Council debates energy policy-Lisbon strategy

Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs and the EU energy policy and climate protection will be the focus of the Spring European Council convening here Thursday and Friday.
Cyprus will be represented at the Council by President Tassos Papadopoulos.
The Heads of State and Government are expected to agree on a European energy policy action plan and adopt ambitious goals to underline Europe‘s pioneering role in the fields of global climate protection.
Within the context of Lisbon process they are expected to agree on measures and goals designed specifically to strengthen the Internal Market and international competitiveness as well as to promote employment and the further development of the European Social Model.
In her invitation to the EU Heads of State and Government for this European Council German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country is currently holding the EU Presidency, said ”Europe is at an important crossroads. If we act decisively now, we have a chance of effectively counteracting the dangers of climate change. Climate and energy policies are therefore at the centre of this European Council.”
”We must use the spring meeting to decide on a strategy which will safeguard our energy supply and ensure climate protection on a sustainable basis. Our response to this issue will have repercussions for the future of Europe and beyond. Europe is currently experiencing an economic upturn,” she added.
Furthermore she noted that ”the reforms undertaken as part of the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Employment are beginning to bear fruit. We should use this positive development to further modernise Europe and its industry and make them fit to face the challenges ahead.”
In a recent visit to Cyprus, in the framework of his tour to EU member states to present the Commission’s new energy policy to the governments and interested institutions, organisations and businesses and to the media, Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs had expressed confidence that Cyprus will support the Commission’s energy package, including perhaps even binding for renewable energy by 2020.
Sources have told CNA that as regards the goals for the renewable energy sources, Cyprus believes that these goals should be indicative and not binding and that particularities of small and isolated energy systems without and efficient capacity of renewable energy sources should be taken into consideration.
In this respect Cyprus supports that the defining of 20% as the contribution of the renewable energy sources to the energy balance of the community by 2020 is an ambitious goal, that should not be binding but indicative for every member state and that according to the potential of every country, goals set out for each of the member states should be determined after discussions with the Commission.
As regards the 10% of the consumption of fuels for transport to come from bio fuels, although it has been initially agreed that this goal will be binding for member states, Cyprus has some reservations because as a small country it will not have the potential to cultivate energy plants to produce energy from bio fuels.
Despite this, Nicosia believes that renewable energy sources will contribute to the effort to protect the environment and to reduce the emission of green house gases and to the EU energy safety.