European Union News - Energy

The informal agreement reached between the Council and the European Parliament on safety of offshore oil and gas operations was backed by the Permanent Representatives Committee of the Council. To enter into force it still needs to be formally approved by the Parliament and by the Council - after the plenary vote in the Parliament.

The latest report published by the Joint Research Centre highlights the lack of harmonised reporting on oil and gas offshore accidents across the EU, and the poor access of information for researchers, consultants and the public. The statistical analysis also reveals that offshore accidents with severe and long-lasting consequences are not extremely rare events as initially thought, at least concerning failures, causes and chain of events.

Ministers were invited to answer two questions raised by the presidency, one focussing on whether the draft directive adequately fulfils its objectives of addressing indirect land-use change emissions and encouraging the transition to advanced biofuels, and the second relating to its support for the achievement of the existing energy and climate change objectives in the EU.

The European Parliament and the Council negotiators a political agreement on offshore legislation. Among the points agreed, the directive would require oil and gas firms to submit major hazard reports and emergency response plans and prove their ability to remedy any environmental damage caused, before could get a licence to drill. The European Parliament and Council are expected to formally approve the legislation in the coming months.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted an opinion which states that if the EU is to meet its energy and climate policy goals, it will need to adopt a common energy tax regime. The opinion suggested creating a common tax framework which would link the tax rate to the energy source and factor in CO2 emissions.

The European Commission welcomed the signature of a tri-lateral intergovernmental agreement (IGA) as an essential step in the preparation of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline project (TAP). TAP is an important gas pipeline between Italy, Albania and Greece with a starting capacity of minimum 10 billion cubic metres per annum (bcma).