Q&A on EU-U.S. Energy Council

November 6, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS

What is the EU-U.S. Energy Council?
The EU-U.S. Energy Council will be a formal framework for deepening the transatlantic dialogue on strategic energy issues of mutual interest. It will also be the platform for cooperation on energy policies and research collaboration on sustainable and clean energy technologies.

Given that the EU and the U.S. are two of the world's large consumers of energy, it is in the interests of both to deepen their bilateral energy cooperation to address the growing challenges of global energy security, sustainability and climate change.

How will the EU-U.S. Energy Council work?
On the EU side, the members of the council will be the commissioners for external relations, for energy, and for science and research, as well as the EU presidency. On the U.S. side, the members will be the secretaries of state and of energy.

The EU-U.S. Energy Council is expected to meet annually, alternately in the EU and U.S., and report to the EU-U.S. Summit. The council may decide to delegate preparatory work and follow-up to working groups at the senior official level, which should meet regularly and report to the EU-U.S. Energy Council. Furthermore, subgroups at the working level may also be established in order to tackle specific issues.

Initial areas of work to be focused on are:

• Energy policies.
• Global energy security and global markets.
• Cooperation on energy technologies research.

Do the EU and U.S. already cooperate in energy research?
Under the Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the European Commission (EC) and the U.S., well-established and successful cooperation occurs on biofuels, carbon capture and storage (CCS), solar power, and hydrogen-fuel cells.

In the international context, the EU and U.S. are leading partners in both the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project for nuclear fusion and in efforts to develop safe and efficient fourth-generation nuclear fission reactors. In addition, several individual EU member states pursue bilateral activities in energy technology research with the U.S.

In the context of the new EU-U.S. Energy Council, cooperation in many of these existing areas will continue and deepen. In addition, cooperation will be extended within the next years to new strategic areas of high priority, including smart grids, energy-efficient buildings and advanced materials for energy applications.

What does the EC expect from this new dialogue structure?
The EC's objectives for the EU-U.S. Energy Council are to:

• Develop the transatlantic perspective on global energy security, including transparent energy markets, diversification of supplies, vital energy infrastructure needs, and equitable access to energy in developing countries.
• Embark on a deeper exchange on energy policies, including areas that are critical within the climate change equation, such as renewable energy, CCS, and energy efficiency.
• Work together towards the mutual/reciprocal opening of funding of R&D energy programs across the Atlantic.
• Deepen ongoing joint research and development of low-carbon energy technologies and broaden cooperation to new areas - in particular, on smart grids, energy-efficient building technologies and new materials for energy applications.
• Start new EU-U.S. cooperation on the promotion and dissemination of existing and expanding energy technology.

Where does this initiative come from?
The U.S. and the EU have a long history of cooperation on energy policies (through the EU's Strategic Energy Review) and on energy R&D (under the EU's Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation). The new administration under U.S. President Barack Obama has opened new opportunities for further cooperation.

Concretely, the proposal to set up an EU-U.S. Energy Council was officially tabled in June 2009 via a letter sent by the Obama administration to the EU, to which the EU responded by suggesting certain areas of cooperation.

Will the EU-U.S. Energy Council discuss climate change issues?
While the council will not be a forum for climate change negotiations, the policy issues of energy and climate change are intrinsically linked. Enhanced consultation on energy matters will thus underpin the common efforts to tackle climate change and, where appropriate, the EU-U.S. Energy Council would complement the multilateral work on transformational energy technologies, such as under the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate.

Does the EU have similar structures with other countries?
In the field of energy research, there is no similar council.

The longest-running and best established bilateral energy dialogue for the EU is the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue. The EU also cooperates with key energy producers, including Norway, OPEC, Gulf Cooperation Council, and some countries in central Asia, as well as key transit countries, like Ukraine and Turkey.

In addition, the EU has signed memoranda of understanding on energy security with Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Egypt, plus one with Iraq is close to signature.

Moreover, there are formalized relations with the countries of the Western Balkans and some of the eastern neighbors through the Energy Community Treaty, as well as close Euro-Mediterranean cooperation with the countries of the Mashreq/Maghreb.

The EU also maintains strong relations with other major consumers, such as China, India and Japan.

Source: European Commission (EC).