2024-06-05 09:30:29
Former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta has submitted a report to the twenty-seven member states that contains several recommendations for developing a single market in the energy sector. It advocates better integration of European electricity markets and proposes solutions for securing energy supply chains.
Since 1993, the European single market has ensured the free movement of goods, services, capital and people within the same economic area. More than 30 years after its creation, at the request of the European Council, Enrico Letta, former Italian Prime Minister and President of the Jacques Delors Institute, has just submitted a report to the twenty-seven member states in order to modernise this market. In a 150-page document, he explores several avenues for reforming the single market in order to avoid an economic decline in the Old Continent and to adapt it to the major global challenges facing the European Union (EU). Several recommendations concern the energy sector.
The report stresses the urgency of strengthening the integration of European electricity markets in the context of the transition to a carbon-free energy system. “Every country must have confidence in its ability to obtain energy supplies from its neighbours at any time,” writes the Italian politician. The aim of this interconnectivity is to improve the competitiveness of this market as well as respond to a growing consumption of electricity while integrating the production of renewable energies. According to the report, this cross-border cooperation is one of the conditions for reducing the costs of the electricity system and ultimately the bill for consumers.
Enrico Letta underlines the need to rethink the physical infrastructure of the electricity grid to ensure seamless connectivity between the different segments of the single market. To this end, ” Europe needs a more synchronised planning and delivery process across different energy sectors and national borders.” The investments required to strengthen the electricity transmission and distribution networks are substantial and are estimated at 584 billion euros by 2030. And because it will be difficult to charge all the necessary investments to the tariffs paid by consumers, the former Italian Prime Minister recommends developing new financial instruments, such as green bonds, to attract private capital.
Create a European Clean Energy Agency
An important point of the report concerns the securing of critical infrastructures. Given that the energy system will be characterized by a myriad of renewable energy installations, such as offshore and onshore wind farms and solar panels, and advanced networks and meters for the transmission of critical data, there is a risk of sabotage or unauthorized data transfer. Enrico Letta advises integrating cybersecurity measures when purchasing new infrastructure or production assets and establishing effective rules for controlling foreign investments in strategic sectors.
Another recommendation is the creation of a clean energy agency whose missions would be divided into four areas, firstly supporting the development of emerging markets, starting with hydrogen. Then, the agency should contribute to the deployment of integrated cross-border infrastructures through subsidies. It would also have the role of supervising incentive programs for the large-scale deployment of clean technologies, particularly in the industrial sector. And finally, it would operate “as a one-stop shop for businesses and stakeholders, providing access to certification programs, personalized advice on funding sources and assistance with authorization procedures.”
To foster energy diversification and strengthen the resilience of the supply chain, Europe should also engage in cooperation with reliable energy partners, according to Enrico Letta. “The EU must rethink and reorient its energy diplomacy towards old and new strategic actors, from Ukraine and the Eastern Neighbourhood to the Mediterranean basin, Africa and the Gulf”he writes. For example, by strengthening the interconnection of gas pipelines from North Africa to Italy, Austria and Germany and modernizing it to be compatible with hydrogen. Or by building new green electricity interconnections from the countries of the eastern shore of the Mediterranean to the EU countries or across the Black Sea to Romania, Hungary and beyond.
1723676504
#Ways #reform #European #single #market #energy #sector
