SGI Europe reacts to the European Commission communication on rising energy prices
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Today (13 October 2021), the European Commission presented a communication on the rise of energy prices, providing a “toolbox” for Member States to address the impacts of the crisis.
Commenting the communication, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, said:
“SGI Europe welcomes the approach of the European Commission to frame the discussions around the rise of energy prices ahead of the meeting of the European Council next week. By doing so, it highlights the challenges, the existing tools as well as the gaps which will need to be addressed in the coming weeks and months.”
“Since the very beginning, SGI Europe has been calling for an implementation of the EU Green Deal relying on an approach balancing the economic, social and environmental dimensions. It is now the moment to address the impacts of the green transition. We therefore call for setting up dedicated platforms where EU social partners can be regularly consulted on the implementation of the Green Deal.”
“The current crisis is also a reminder about the need to modernise our energy systems, primarily through the Recovery and Resilience Fund, whilst improving existing tools. These modernisations should be guided by common principles safeguarding a similar level of ambition across sectors and aiming for a technology-neutral approach and considering the maturity of technologies and the contribution they make in reducing CO2 emissions.”
“Finally, the EU must set the foundations to develop both a sustainable gas sector and a low-carbon and renewable electricity market to reach climate-neutrality. This will require an all-inclusive approach where all types of low-carbon and renewable energy sources are treated on a level-playing field, and considers the strategic role of the existing gas infrastructure. This would allow to diversify our energy mixes, reduce supply dependencies from non-EU/EEA gas-exporting countries, whilst relying on specificities of each Member States.”