18th November 2009, Parliament of Belgium, Brussels

DECLARATION OF BRUSSELS 2009 on “Moving towards a sustainable energy system in Europe” EUFORES,

-having regard to its Budapest Declaration 2008

-having regard to its Berlin Declaration 2007

-having regard to its Edinburgh Declaration 2005

-having regard to its Athens Declaration 2003

-having regard to its Santiago de Compostela Declaration 2002

-having regard to its Madeira Declaration 2000

-having regard to the Madrid Declaration 1994

A. whereas Europe is facing an economic crisis, which will inevitably affect the real economy and particularly affect the poorest households; whereas energy poverty is likely to grow;

B. whereas climate change still remains the biggest threat facing mankind today;

C. whereas the EU`s dependency on fossil and nuclear energy and on a limited number of energy producers is a serious risk to its stability and prosperity;

D. whereas energy efficiency has a crucial role to play in reducing the EU`s dependency on energy imports, in enforcing competitiveness and in limiting the effects of climate change;

E. whereas only a truly transparent and liberalised market with independent grid operators can favour the integration of renewable energy into a pan-European smart grid;

General remarks

1. Considers it as crucial that particularly in these times of an economic crisis energy efficiency measures and renewable energy be supported; is convinced that investing in improved energy efficiency and turning to energy from renewable sources will reduce Europe´s energy bill and import dependency and have positive impacts on job creation
and economic growth in Europe; emphasises energy efficiency and renewable energy measures as the engines out of the current crisis;

2. Underlines in this regard the utmost importance of a successful post-Kyoto protocol to be agreed in Copenhagen;

3. Stresses that a growing number of EU citizens are unable to afford their energy bills and that vulnerable customers, including the elderly, disabled and low income families, are those most affected; fears that, as a consequence of the economic crisis, energy poverty is likely to grow in Europe;

4. Underlines that energy efficiency reduces the overall demand for energy and that therefore renewable energy and energy efficiency always have to be considered jointly;
5. Believes that a clear shift of Europe's energy supply from an energy wasting fossil fuelsbased economy to an energy efficient renewable energy-based economy is vital to
secure Europe's energy supply;

6. Underlines that energy prices for conventional fuels still do not reflect the ecological truth; therefore calls for a transparent and fair pricing of all energy and other natural resources by internalising external – in particular social and ecological - costs gradually and over time;

7. Urges for proper and immediate implementation of existing legislation on energy efficiency and renewable energy; underlines that ambitious legislation will remain
meaningless without the strong commitment of national, regional and local stakeholders, coherence between those stakeholders and clear implementation on the ground;

8. Underlines the importance of the Covenant of Mayors and its ambition to go beyond the EU`s 20-20-20 in 2020 commitment; invites the Covenant of Mayors for an intensified exchange of views and a stronger collaboration with us, the Members of Parliaments;

9. Calls for the inclusion of common renewable energy and energy efficiency targets in combination with principal environmental, water and human security aims into the
“Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean”; emphasizes that this could enhance cooperation in the areas of renewable energy and human security in the Mediterranean
region;

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