Energy ministers meeting in Brussels on 24 November will adopt conclusions on securing the EU’s external energy supply. They are expected to be endorsed by national leaders at their EU summit meeting on 9 December.

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The European Commission put forward a proposal to boost the EU’s co-ordination of external energy policy in September. It also called for member states to share information about energy deals with foreign suppliers.

Energy ministers are expected to back the general objectives of the proposal, but to be more cautious when it comes to sharing information about energy deals. In addition, Poland, which holds the presidency of the EU’s Council of Ministers, and the Commission will brief ministers on recent international developments in the field of energy.

Energy efficiency

The presidency will present a progress report to ministers on talks over the draft energy-efficiency directive proposed by the Commission in June. Several member states have expressed concern that the proposal’s requirement that energy suppliers reduce energy use by 1.5% each year would hurt national economies.

Poland has suggested that more small suppliers of electricity be excluded from the savings obligation. Several member states have also said that it is not financially feasible to require the refurbishment of 3% of public buildings, according to the report.

Another progress report will outline the main steps taken following the conclusions adopted by the energy council in February, which were focused on the internal energy market, external energy relations, and energy infrastructure and efficiency.

Proposals covering these areas have since been presented by the Commission, including an overhaul of the trans-European energy infrastructure, which will be discussed in detail by the ministers following a presentation by the Commission.

Offshore drilling

The Commission will also present its proposal for new rules covering offshore driling, announced in October. The rules, motivated by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year, would require operators to submit risk assessments and emergency response plans to national authorities. But the proposal keeps authority over oil exploration at a national level.

Ministers may discuss the Commission’s decision, to be adopted the day before, to reduce co-financing for nuclear decommissioning activities in Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia in the next financial framework to €500 million. The decommissioning was required as part of their accession to the EU.

The change will introduce an end date of 2017 for the funding for Slovakia and Lithuania, and 2020 for Bulgaria.