Scheduled a few weeks before the planned release of the European Commission’s Communication on Energy Union, a conference organised on 6 February in Riga under the auspices of the Latvian Presidency offered further insight into the Commission’s plans. Vice-President Šefčovič presented the five dimensions of the Energy Union, placing particular emphasis on the role of regional cooperation in pooling member states’ efforts and resources. Commissioner Arias Cañete’s intervention provided a flavour of the main issues the Commission will pursue under the Energy Union work programme. In reply to IEA Executive Director van der Hoeven’s call to associate the Energy Union with “meaningful changes in the way we use and price energy”, a lot of emphasis was placed on market design and the respective roles of ACER and ENTSO-E.

Echoing the introduction by the Latvian Minister for Economics on the successful implementation of the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan (BEMIP), Commission Vice President Šefčovič raised the need to make greater use of regional cooperation to achieve the various dimensions of the Energy Union.

In his intervention, EU Energy and Climate Commissioner Arias Cañete outlined the likely forthcoming work streams of the Juncker Commission, placing specific emphasis on implementing the third energy package and reviewing the market design as well as the role of ACER and ENTSO-E. He also highlighted the value of a robust Emissions Trading System (ETS) as “the main instrument for decarbonisation” and, in this context, the importance of adopting the planned Market Stability Reserve. Addressing the non-ETS sectors, he stressed the importance of improving energy efficiency in buildings and promoting electrification of vehicles. Some controversy arose with respect to RES, as the IEA Executive Director expressed concerns whether the engagement in pushing renewables forward would not progressively get diluted, putting Europe’s leadership at risk.

The Energy Union is one of the key priorities of the new Commission as laid down by President Juncker in his political guidelines. The Commission plans to publish a Communication on the Energy Union on 25 February, together with a Communication on ‘The Road to Paris’ and a Communication reporting on the electricity interconnection target of 10%.