EU energy ministers to discuss new electricity market design in Tallinn
The first informal meeting of energy and transport ministers (TTE) during Estonia’s EU Presidency will be held in Tallinn from 19 to 21 September 2017. Finland’s representative at the meeting from 19 to 20 September will be Minister for Housing, Energy and the Environment Kimmo Tiilikainen, and Minister of Transport and Communications Anne Berner will attend the meeting on 21 September.
At lunch on 19 September, the energy ministers will discuss the governance of the Energy Union. On 20 September, they will reflect upon the design of the electricity market. Additionally, the energy and transport ministers will have a joint working session on infrastructure development.
The energy ministers will discuss the proposal, included in the Commission’s clean energy package, which concerns the design of the European electricity market. In the discussion, they will focus on the consumer’s position in the electricity markets, regional cooperation and EU Member States’ mutual solidarity.
Finland supports increased consumer engagement in the electricity markets and market-based pricing of electricity. Attention must be paid to cooperation between different actors at the regional level. Some issues related to cooperation require adjustments; the Commission’s proposal related to the establishment of Regional Operation Centres (ROCs), for example, is problematic. The Nordic countries have plenty of good experiences from voluntary cooperation in this sector.
In their joint session, the energy and transport ministers will discuss expectations related to the development of infrastructure by 2020 and beyond, based on the experiences gained from the implementation of the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility. As for energy projects, Finland welcomes the prioritisation of cross-border infrastructure projects at EU level based on their feasibility and factual impacts on cross-border electricity and gas trade.
At lunch, the ministers will discuss the governance of the Energy Union, through which the Commission would try to enable closer monitoring and steering of the implementation of the energy and climate policy in Member States. Questions related to the proposed procedures are of key importance.
During the informal TTE meeting, Member States may sign the e-Energy declaration, which deals with digitalisation of the energy sector. Finland will sign the declaration.
Inquiries:
Katja Tuokko, Senior Adviser, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 50 465 5533
Tatu Pahkala, Senior Adviser, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. 0358 50 396 1285 (energy markets, digitalisation)