Menu
UK Parliament

UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly: Recommendation concerning UK-EU energy cooperation

UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly: Recommendation concerning UK-EU energy cooperation

Recommendation

The Parliamentary Partnership Assembly:

  1. Condemns the continuation of the unprovoked and unjustified Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and welcomes the close cooperation of the UK, EU and other partners in responding to this aggression;
  2. Acknowledges the considerable shared energy challenges facing Europe as a result of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, relating to energy prices, including the price manipulation of the energy markets , energy security and infrastructure, independence from Russian supplies and sustainable energy;
  3. Observes that the EU and UK gas and electricity markets are physically interconnected, relying on each other to balance demand and operate efficient markets; that a single Electricity Market operates on the island of Ireland (SEM), shared by Ireland and Northern Ireland; and that a substantial amount of gas and electricity is traded between the island of Ireland and Great Britain, and continental Europe and Great Britain;
  4. Notes that, in view of these interconnections and interdependencies, the Energy Title (Articles 299-331) of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) provides the framework for a fair competition in energy markets and non-discriminatory access to networks, energy trading, security of supply and environmental sustainability;
  5. Notes that the TCA establishes the Specialised Committee on Energy (SCE) as the main UK-EU forum for energy cooperation and welcomes that the SCE has discussed energy security at both of the meetings (on 30 March 2022[1] and 28 September[2]) that have taken place since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine;
  6. Recognises that, due to the inter-connected and interdependent nature of the regional energy market, measures taken by both the UK and EU respectively may have impacts on the other Party, and that a lack of coordination could in some circumstances result in mutually sub-optimal outcomes;
  7. Therefore draws to the attention of the Partnership Council the imperative need for the EU and UK to cooperate as closely as possible in the coming months to support the effective functioning of gas and electricity markets, with a particular view to maintaining energy interconnection during Winter 2022-23 and Winter 2023-24 so that energy supply is protected as far as possible;
  8. Calls on the UK and EU to meet regularly over the coming months to discuss security of supply and to increase cooperation on network development and security of supply, including the sharing of information relating to risk preparedness and emergency plans;
  9. Calls on the Parties to continue their plans to build further interconnectors and support each other by means of energy exports, especially during emergency situations;
  10. Requests that the Partnership Council report in writing to the PPA in advance of its next meeting as to how the EU and UK have cooperated on energy security, in line with the obligations set out in the TCA, over the course of the winter and in preparation for Winter 2023-24;
  11. Urges both Parties to continue to further strengthen their efforts to reduce energy demand;
  12. Calls on the EU and UK also to exchange best practice in the field of consumer rights and protection in energy markets, as well as on measures taken to shield consumers, especially vulnerable and energy-poor households, from high energy prices, including measures to deliver on energy-efficient solutions;
  13. Encourages the Parties to develop concrete solutions as soon as possible for more efficient electricity trading arrangements as provided for in the TCA[3] and urges the Parties to make swift progress towards the development and adoption of these arrangements;
  14. Welcomes the recent positive signals of cooperation, including the extraordinary meeting of the Specialised Committee on Energy on 28 September, and engagement with EU Member States and other European partners at the first meeting of the European Political Community on 6 October;
  15. Calls on both parties to continue their partnership under the mutual Agreement for cooperation on the safe and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, particularly including when it comes to the construction of new nuclear power plants and the trade and commercial cooperation relating to the nuclear fuel cycle and the safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste;
  16. Recognises that the clean energy transition constitutes an important incentive for future EU-UK cooperation;
  17. Recognises also the Parties’ continued commitment to net zero climate objectives as expressed in the TCA and in both Parties’ strengthened greenhouse gas reduction targets submitted prior to last year’s COP 26 Climate Conference in Glasgow;
  18. Considers that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has made even more urgent the need to move away from fossil fuel energy towards more efficient and renewable based energy system
  19. Calls for cooperation to promote renewable energy through the promotion of joint projects between the UK and the EU, which would allow for cost-efficient deployment of the clean energy transition;
  20. Notes that Article 321 of the TCA provides that the Parties shall cooperate on the development of offshore renewable energy;
  21. Calls for such cooperation in promoting offshore renewable energy, the related networks and sharing information and knowledge on offshore safety risks, ensuring its coexistence with the activities that already take place in the affected areas, as well as minimising harm to the environment;
  22. 22. Notes that the North Sea Energy Cooperation grouping (NSEC), involving eight EU Member States and Norway, is a forum for such cooperation;
  23. Welcomes the commitment to relaunch cooperation within NSEC and the progress made on engagement between the UK, the Commission and NSEC countries, as reflected in the successful negotiation of a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on offshore renewable energy cooperation and urges the Parties to move swiftly to signature of this MOU;
  24. Notes the combined commitment of the EU Member States within the NSEC and the UK to offshore renewable energy deployment in the North Sea of 126 gigawatts by 2030;
  25. Calls on both Parties to cooperate in seeking to facilitate this strategically important deployment as rapidly as possible to meet their respective targets; and
  26. Requests that the Partnership Council report in writing to the PPA in advance of its next meeting as to how the EU and UK have built on the work of NSEC to fulfil their TCA commitments and tackle the energy challenges that both Parties are facing.

 

[1] Specialised Committee on Energy, Minute of the Meeting, 30 March 2022

[2] Specialised Committee on Energy, Minute of the Meeting, 28 September 2022  [agenda]

[3] Article 312, TCA