Europarlementariërs voorstander van kernenergie en gemeenschappelijk energiebeleid (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Nuclear power, a pan-European gas grid and solidarity between member states should be the building blocks for the EU's energy strategy in the future, MEPs have said.

With the EU currently importing 50 percent of what it consumes and in the wake of a gas dispute between Ukraine and Russia highlighting the dependency on external sources, the European Parliament on Tuesday (3 February) urged governments to adopt "an ambitious and far-sighted diversification" plan at their spring summit next month.

The energy blueprint called on EU leaders to be more ambitious in tackling climate change, suggesting that by 2050 the bloc should have reduced greenhouse gases by 80 percent, improved energy efficiency by 35 percent and have renewable energy accounting for 60 percent of energy use.

Despite objections from Green MEPs, the report sees a greater role for nuclear power in Europe's energy mix - "at the highest technologically possible level of safety" - and calls on the European Commission to draw up a "specific road map for nuclear investments."

Energy solidarity also features prominently in the report after several European countries were left without gas supplies last month during a pricing tiff between Moscow and Kiev.

In a sign that MEPs increasingly believe that energy is no longer just an energy policy issue alone but also a question of foreign policy, the deputies are calling for an energy security clause in future trade and partnership agreements with producing and transit countries.

The report also specifies a single European gas grid linking all 27 member states and says a 2004 EU law on security of gas supply should be overhauled to include mandatory emergency plans to deal with interruptions in gas supplies.

The report, adopted by a strong majority, is the European Parliament's response to a strategic energy review adopted by the commission in autumn last year.

Its ambitions for tackling climate change go much further than the 2020 targets of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent and having 20 percent renewable energy agreed by EU leaders in December.

However, the report comes at a time when environment issues have been pushed far down the political agenda as Europe faces rising unemployment and low growth as a result of the current economic downturn.

The effects of the global financial crisis have already been brought to bear on the EU's proposed road-map for international climate talks to take place in Copenhagen in December.

The European Commission's concrete funding figures on how rich countries should help developing countries tackle global warming were removed from the paper at the 11th hour.