The European energy sector received a number of jolts in the last couple of years. The sharp rise in the price of oil and the natural gas crisis are the most obvious. There are also tough challenges to be addressed: From growing global demand for oil and increasing dependency on fuel imports to delays in the implementation of an integrated energy market and inadequate infrastructure.

So far, EU member states have been reluctant to act in a concerted matter to create a single European energy policy. Not only have member states been divided over some very fundamental matters, community actions had to be taken under headings such as environment, transport and industrial policy since the European Community Treaty does not offer a legal basis specifically for energy matters.

Circumstances demanded a more coordinated approach. At the beginning of March, the European Commission produced a Green Paper on secure, competitive and sustainable energy, the three "pillars" of a future energy policy. Concurrently, the Council of Energy Ministers was debating a text presented by the Austrian presidency on a new energy policy. Both texts would feature prominently in the conclusions eventually adopted by the European Council of Heads of State or Government which met last month.

The European Council conclusions avoid divisive issues and recognise that member states enjoy the right of choice with regard to the energy mix (thus avoiding controversial issues such as nuclear energy) and sovereignty with regard to primary energy sources. It endorses almost all of the Commission's proposals in the Green Paper and has been recognised as a significant milestone in the Commission's approach to energy. What are the highlights of these conclusions? The first has to do with the Union's external relations. Competitiveness and security of supply can be better guaranteed if the Union speaks with a single voice in its dealings with supplier and transit countries and international fora. In the case of the latter, Malta favourably noted a specific reference to the EuroMed dialogue along with reference to the ongoing dialogue in the context of the Northern Dimension and OPEC.

Malta welcomed the Commission's Green Paper which proposed appropriate actions and initiatives to achieve the goals it set out and also strongly supported the Green Paper's focus on the development of an energy priority interconnection plan, saying that islands needed to be connected to the European energy grid.

Malta agreed that the energy mix should be left to subsidiarity. Initiatives were needed to reduce energy demand, to invest in clean and energy-efficient technology, to increase the use of renewable energy sources and to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Malta supported the EU's initiatives encouraging more openness and transparency in international energy markets, agreeing that existing dialogues with third countries should be strengthened and widened to include areas such as the Mediterranean.

Malta was pleased with the initiative to set up a European Energy Supply Observatory and agreed with the importance of coherence while account had to be taken of the specificities of each member state.

The conclusions also call for greater solidarity and assistance between member states in the case of disruption of supplies, diversification with regard to suppliers/generators as well as with regard to transit routes. The conclusions also encourage the completion of an energy network infrastructure.

The European Commission is to prepare a priority interconnection plan on inter-regional cooperation with the objective of facilitating the integration of energy markets by the end of this year. Once more, owing to its geographical location, Malta has a strong interest in actions in this aspect.

Finally, the conclusions address sustainable energy, encouraging the take-up of renewable energy, greater use of bio-fuels, greater accessibility to the electricity grid and greater energy efficiency. These are essential factors that are inductive to enhance the energy security as well as the competitiveness of the whole EU bloc. In this regard, through the Malta Resources Authority, the Ministry for Resources and the Infrastructure is in the process of preparing a national energy policy that incorporates the above mentioned issues. After a due consultation process, this energy plan will constitute a practical platform on which we can base our energy supply in a manner that will be compatible with the rest of the European bloc.

Mr Zammit is Minister for Resources and the Infrastructure