mr president i draw three fairly obvious conclusions from the impasse with russia and ukraine
firstly we must reduce dependency on gas more and more of which will have to be imported
this means increasing our commitment to indigenous energy including especially renewables and nuclear power
secondly we must improve eu solidarity with mutual support between the member states for electricity gas and oil supplies
this implies much improved and extended grids and pipelines
why should bulgaria have no gas while romania on the other bank of the danube has gas
why does slovakia have no gas while neighbours austria poland and the czech republic do
these gaps in the gas grid must be closed urgently
what is the timing for this commissioner piebalgs
thirdly we must diversify our sources of supply and our storage facilities for gas and oil
why are we not making fuller use of the depleted southern north sea gas fields for storage
we must greatly expand our liquefied gas infrastructure and develop pipeline systems from alternative sources and through alternative routings
we need better and more connections with norway with north africa and west africa with the caspian and caucasus with the levant and gulf states in the middle east
in conclusion i therefore ask the commission and council if they are promoting renewables and nuclear urgently enough investing sufficiently in the construction of pipelines and lng terminals and in developing the political relationships which will ensure continuity and diversity of supply
we clearly cannot depend on russia or the ukraine to anything like the present extent
we must put our own european interests first and without delay
