II. Inter-Parliamentary Meeting

Madeira, Portugal 12-14 May 2000

Summary of the event

A total of over 110 participants, took part in the 2nd Inter-Parliamentary Meeting: RES in the EU, organised by EUFORES and AREAM. The event gathered 45 Members of National Parliaments (in particular those engaged in energy issues), 7 Members of the European Parliament, energy authorities, as well as representatives of EU institutions, the media and other EU actors.

The meeting was held a few days after the proposal of the EC Directive on the promotion of electricity from RES in the internal electricity market, which provided new elements of discussion.

During the meeting two main issues related to renewables were addressed: Energy Policy and Market Development. 
The debates on Energy Policy dealt with specific challenges at regional, national, EU and global level: ranging from insular energy manage­ment to global environ­mental concerns; discussing the need for a common European energy policy, as well as impacts of renewables on employ­ment and economic growth; finally considering security of supply and internalisation of externalities. 
The discussions on Market Development tackled ways of fostering RES energy market penetration both on the supply side, in the form of electricity, heat and fuels, and on the demand side, through market mechanisms, such as certification and labeling; examples of success­ful marketing strate­gies were presented.

During the closing session a final statement of the meeting was proposed, discussed, and approved by the 52 attending Members of Parliament: the Madeira Statement.

Aims of this Meeting

  • To discuss the institutional framework and the guidelines that should be followed by key initiatives and legislative developments affecting RES, leading to a green energy market development 
    • Directive of renewable electricity access to the grid; 
    • Energy and carbon taxation;
    • Coupling of renewables and efficiency mechanisms;
    • Market liberalisation;
    • Green energy trading.
  • To present the development process of the EU Strategy on Renewables and the Campaign for Take-Off;
  • To highlight success stories on the deployment of renewable energy, especially political and market measures successfully put in place, and those still needed;
  • To discuss renewable energies regarding other related policies;
  • To raise the awareness on the insular and peripheral problems of some EU regions.

MADEIRA STATEMENT

of the 2nd Inter-Parliamentary Meeting on Renewable Energy Sources in the EU,
organised by EUFORES and AREAM,
in Madeira (Portugal) on 12-13th May 2000

On Friday 12th and Saturday 13th of May 2000, 52 Members of National Parliaments and of the European Parliament met in Madeira in order to discuss the current status of renewable energy in the European Union. The 52 Members of Parliament,

  • welcomed the proposal for a Directive adopted by the European Commission and the substantial work carried out by Commissioner De Palacio on this important instrument for the promotion of electricity from renewable energy sources, which will accompany the Internal Electricity Market Directive;  urged its adoption, after due consideration, and its full implementation;  accepted the idea that clear renewable energy targets for the Member States should be agreed after discussions with them, while leaving it up to the countries to use the instruments they feel best suited to achieving those targets;  also welcomed the European Parliament’s Turmes report on the same matter, adopted at the end of March, as well as progress made in the various Member States;
  • remain worried in particular about the implications that the ongoing review of the "Community Guidelines on State aid for Environmental Protection" might have on the development of schemes to support renewables, at a time when there is not yet a level playing field in the internal electricity market because of the absence of full integration of social and environmental costs into electricity prices and while there are large and ongoing subsidies to traditional energy sources, and will carefully follow the review of those Guidelines;
  • urge the European institutions and especially the European governments as part of the ongoing negotiations at the “Inter-Governmental Conference”, to address the problem of the lack of a legal base in the current EU Treaties for a common EU energy policy, especially in light of the need to meet the EU climate commitments, at the very least with a Treaty commitment to the promotion of renewable energy sources;  call on the National Parliaments in co-operation with the EU institutions to hold an Inter-Parliamentary Colloquium (“Assise”) on energy policy;  emphasise the importance of research, and in particular wishes to see most energy research dedicated to sustainable energy;
  • call upon the European institutions to address the energy problems of the EU accession countries and to come up with a clear strategy on how to help these countries to address the question of long term sustainability of energy, with its benefits in terms of environment and employment, and to link it with the necessary reform in the field of agriculture; also express a desire to see renewables take a much more significant place in the development policies of the EU and the Member States, so as to facilitate the transfer and development of environmentally sound technologies in developing countries, notably in the field of energy and transportation.

Organisers

The organisers are EUFORES (European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources) and AREAM (Regional Energy Agency of Madeira), supported by the Regional Government of Madeira, national authorities of Portugal (Secretary of State for Energy), CCE (Centro para a Conservação de Energia), and the European Commission - ALTENER II Programme. It is backed by local utilities and energy companies, and the official carrier, TAP Air Portugal and the Airport of Madeira. 

Dissemination activities

Further to involvement of policymakers of MS in EU targets and of its Strategy's development process, the impact of a meeting of this nature is extremely high. This was fostered by the presence of top level officials and elected representatives, and further amplified by the invitation of an ample selection of media representatives and thorough media releases and follow-up:

  • Previous to the meeting, press conferences and releases and additional information sent to media and to related interest groups, and regular contacts with the Committees responsible for energy of EP, national and regional Parliaments, including information summaries and specific invitations to key Members;
  • During the meeting, press conferences, informative press releases, interviews with top-level MPs , with press facilities and a contact person available
  • After the meeting, EU-wide Press releases with the results and highlighting key conclusions and issues such as the response of attendees, follow-up of the impact in media of the event and its results, and press conference in the EP (Brussels)

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