European Energy Commissioner arrives tonight

European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs will start a short visit to Malta tonight during which he will have talks with the government on the latest EU energy proposals and Malta's future plans in this sector.

A spokesman told The Times Mr Piebalgs is scheduled to have formal talks with the Prime Minister and with the minister responsible for energy Ninu Zammit tomorrow.

"We consider Malta as a developing member state in the energy sector as it is an island totally dependent on oil. We are already very satisfied that Malta is making plans to integrate better with the European continent through a link to the European grid and is also preparing the groundwork to develop alternative energy sources," the spokesman said.

A few months ago, the Cabinet approved a new energy policy highlighting the challenges ahead and including various measures that need to be put in place.

One of the major projects in the coming years is the installation of a submarine cable between Malta and Sicily to connect Malta with the European electricity grid. This will allow the island to have electricity supplied directly from the continent and to sell its overcapacity to European citizens. The government is expected to dedicate EU funds for this project.

During his visit, Mr Piebalgs is also expected to visit students of the Kirkop primary school and discuss with them electricity-saving measures being promoted by the EU. He will also be meeting energy stakeholders at the Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise.

During their summit last March, EU leaders agreed to implement a new Energy Plan in which member states are obliged to reduce their dependency on fossil fuels and to have by 2020 a good percentage of their energy supply deriving from renewable resources such as wind and solar power.

The EU's overall target is a 20 per cent cap, however, member states will have different individual targets according to their specific circumstances.

The decision on the individual targets is still to be decided.