Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.14
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The European Commission has launched a consultation on strengthening the global role of euro in energy field, Trend reports citing the Commission’s website.
Launched at a workshop organized in Brussels, the move follows the Commission's Communication “Towards a stronger international role of the euro, adopted on 5 December 2018, which outlined benefits of a strengthened international role of the euro for the EU and the international system and proposed initiatives to boost the euro's role, reads a message from the European Commission.
Commenting on the issue, European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete said that strengthening the international role of the euro in the field of energy investment and trade will help reduce the risk of supply disruptions and promote the autonomy of European businesses.
“The vast majority of the long-term contracts of our energy imports are not denominated in euros. This is clearly not sustainable and it does not reflect the role the euro should have worldwide,” he said.
The EU is the world's largest energy importer with an annual energy import bill averaging 300 billion euros in the last five years, according to the message.
“Roughly 85 percent of this amount is paid in US dollars, even though the euro is a stable, reliable and globally recognized currency widely accepted for international payments. Strengthening the euro's role in the field of energy trade and investment, while preserving general economic efficiency, will reinforce the international position of the euro and support the EU's objective to build an Energy Union that ensures that Europe's energy supply remains safe, viable and accessible to all,” said the European Commission.
The EU has committed itself to binding energy efficiency target of reducing energy consumption by 20 percent by 2020. The primary energy consumption should amount to no more than 1 483 Mtoe and final energy consumption to no more than 1 086 Mtoe in 2020. The revised Energy Efficiency Directive provides for a new energy efficiency target for 2030: a primary energy consumption of no more than 1 273 Mtoe and a final energy consumption of no more than 956 Mtoe (equivalent to a reduction of 32.5 percent).
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