Governments pledge energy price cuts policy
France and Germany pledged today to work towards creating an EU-wide energy policy that would help keep prices down and ensure supplies for years to come.
The two countries, in a statement issued at a meeting between French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said the project would unite consuming and producing countries.
Europe has been looking to ensure the stability of its energy supplies after a crisis in which major producer Russia temporarily shutdown supply earlier this year, causing disruptions.
The “energy partnerships” outlined by France and Germany aim to “reach a better energy security, more transparency and predictability of markets, and an equal openness of investment with respect to rules of competition,” the statement said.
The two countries emphasised relations with Russia, which controls 30 to 40% of the world’s gas reserves, and urged Moscow to sign the international Energy Charter.
Russia signed that pact in 1994, but has not ratified it. The charter regulates transit and investment in the energy sector and would allow for market competition between foreign and independent companies.
