By Martin Banks - 2nd March 2011
Everyone in Europe and, indeed, the rest of the world is very worried about a safe, secure energy supply at affordable prices
Philip Lowe
A senior commission official has warned of "volatile" energy supplies due to continuing instability in the Arab world.
Speaking at an energy conference on Wednesday, Philip Lowe said that, currently, there were "legitimate concerns" about the security of Europe's energy supply from Libya and other parts of the region.
"At present, there is great uncertainty over which gas and oil fields will be under whose control in Libya," said Lowe, the commission's director general for energy.
"Everyone in Europe and, indeed, the rest of the world is very worried about a safe, secure energy supply at affordable prices."
The commission veteran pointed out that Libya accounted for a "substantial" proportion of both global and European gas supplies.
Europe relies on Libya for 10 per cent of its oil and 20 per cent of gas supplies, said the Briton.
"Continuing instability in Libya and elsewhere in the region will affect supplies to Europe and lead to volatility," he warned.
Lowe, a keynote speaker at the conference, said that such volatility "illustrates the need for Europe to consider alternative sources of energy.
He said, "This volatility will only increase if we in Europe continue to rely on a limited number of sources of energy supply."
"The current situation emphasises the need to look at other energy sources."
The Libyan crisis, he said, comes against a backdrop of rapidly increasing demand for energy in Europe.
Europe currently imports more than half of the energy it needs and Lowe said the commission has warned that "if nothing changes our dependence on fossil fuel imports will rise by 2030."
Lowe said that moves to liberalise energy supplies within Europe, creating an "open, competitive" energy market had been "held up" at member state level.
He said that growth had been further stunted by a "manifest problem" with the energy infrastructure in Europe.
Lowe was speaking at a conference, entitled "Challenges for a comprehensive European energy security policy for gas", organised by the Royal Institute for International Relations.
Addressing the same debate, parliament's president Jerzy Buzek called on the EU to support the "people's movement" currently taking place in the Arab world.
He said their "struggle for freedom is legitimate" and that supporting the movement represented a "much smaller risk" to the security of Europe's energy supplies.
He reminded the audience of the last energy crisis in Europe when supplies were cut off to 18 countries as a result of a dispute three years ago between Russia and Ukraine.
"During that crisis the EU lacked the proper instruments to act," he said.
"You have to ask how long can Europe's energy policy be based on the belief that supplies will be stable forever. To me, that is wishful thinking."
The Polish member said that gas, which currently accounts for 25 per cent of energy consumption, would continue to remain a mainstay of Europe's energy mix.
He endorsed calls for a single energy market, describing the current situation as "fragmented."
"Fragmentation leads to higher prices so cross-border connections are absolutely necessary. The commission is addressing this but maybe what it is doing is not enough.
"We need to implement the third energy package and develop common research in the energy field."
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