Minister of European Affairs, Paula Lehtomäki
Plenary session of the European Parliament
11 October 2006
(Subject to changes)
Mr President, Honourable Members of Parliament,
Thank you for this opportunity to come here today to discuss the informal meeting of EU Heads of State or Government due to take place in Lahti on 20 October.
We decided to organise the Lahti meeting because we want to provide EU leaders with a possibility for an open and informal discussion on two themes of crucial importance for the future of the Union and its economic success. Those themes are innovation and external energy relations.
We need coherent and robust policies for creating an environment that is conducive to innovation, and for energy issues too. That is what will enable us to improve the Union’s performance on economic growth and employment. If the Union can improve its citizens' well-being through concrete measures, then it should be able to win greater public approval. And a coherent common policy on energy will also enhance its international credibility.
To guide the leaders’ discussions, the Commission will present two communications: one on the external aspects of energy policy and another on innovation policy. The communications will be presented tomorrow on 12 October. The communications will not be adopted at the meeting but they do point out issues we want to focus on at Lahti.
The informal meeting of Heads of State or Government will be preceded, on the morning of 20 October, by an informal tripartite social summit, also in Lahti. Europe has a work force of some 200 million people; the way its labour markets function and adapt to change is crucial to Europe's future. That is why the social partners play such a central role in efforts to increase Europe’s competitiveness.
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has been invited to attend the dinner following on from the Lahti meeting. We want the discussion with President Putin to focus on the strategic partnership between the EU and Russia, including cooperation on energy matters.
External energy relations
In response to the main energy challenges facing the Union – security of supply, climate change, steadily rising prices and recent crises – moves are underway to develop the EU’s common energy policy.
As far as security of supplies is concerned, our ever-increasing dependence on energy imports is a particularly serious challenge. Unless we do something about it, it is estimated that our dependence on imported energy will rise over the next twenty years from 50% today to 70%.
Before the Finnish Presidency began there had already been some discussion of development of the common energy policy at the two European Council meetings in the first half of the year. Our Presidency is focusing particularly on external energy relations. The discussions will prepare the ground for a comprehensive energy debate next spring, culminating in the adoption of an action plan on energy policy.
Though external energy relations will be the focus of discussion at Lahti, it is quite clear that our external-relations objectives cannot be dealt with in isolation. All the priority areas mentioned in the Energy Green Paper are closely interlinked. The other areas are: the internal energy market, solidarity between Member States, diversification of energy sources, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, and encouraging innovation.
With regard to external energy relations, we need to build a consensus between the Member States as to what sort of strategy is needed to forge stronger relations with countries outside the EU and what sort of common objectives the EU should have with regard to the outside world. Member States will have to be able to commit to following a commonly agreed approach, and to speaking with one voice, not just in multilateral contexts but in their bilateral relations too. Commitment to common objectives will also boost the Union’s ability to respond to changes on global energy markets.
In the course of the discussions at Lahti, leaders will exchange views on how best to develop external energy relations in the immediate future. The plan is to focus in particular on three themes:
1) principles that should form the basis of the EU’s energy relations with Russia and the implementation of these principles;
2) fostering closer relations with strategically important third countries
3) ways to improve the collection of information for use in energy policy decision-making and for the improvement of crises responds capabilities.
Russia, which accounts for 25% of oil and gas imports, is strategically speaking the Union’s most important energy partner.
With Russia, as with any strategic partner, it is important to find reciprocal interests on which to build a partnership. It is not hard to identify a common interest in EU-Russia energy relations: the EU depends on the energy it imports from Russia, and Russia needs long-term contracts for its energy imports, at market prices. And it needs western investment in energy production. Whatever way you look at it, more open markets are the key.
The discussions between the EU Heads of State or Government will also be useful as a basis for discussions with President Putin over dinner, later the same day. Energy will be one of the main topics.
The intention is to let Russia know that the EU wants to construct a framework of binding energy agreements that would serve the interests of both parties and create a reciprocal and balanced environment for doing business. Of course the discussion will also cover common challenges, faced by the EU and Russia alike, such as energy efficiency – areas where both sides stand to gain.
From the point of view of the security of energy supply, there are good reasons for the EU to extend the principles governing its internal energy market to neighbouring regions and to develop relations with the third countries of the greatest strategic importance to us. Some 80% of the world’s oil reserves are located in regions near to the EU. If we want to develop our relations with non-member countries, there is a wide range of instruments available to us: the Neighbourhood Policy Action Plans,the Energy Community Treaty; the bilateral agreements and regional arrangements.
Honourable Members,
Energy policy must be treated as one of the themes under the Union’s common foreign and security policy. The European Union needs to have enough information available to enable it to pursue a more coherent energy policy. In addition, the Union has to be able to respond to external energy problems and crises. We need to create, within the Union, a mechanism for increasing cooperation between Member States and institutions and generating greater solidarity on energy issues.
Innovation policy
The second main topic at the Lahti meeting is innovation policy. We need to make better use of research carried out in Europe for commercial goods and services. The Union must learn how to apply new technologies as effectively as our competitors. If we do not change our ways, the innovation gap between the Union and its main competitors will grow even bigger.
Europe faces ever increasing competition from products from the emerging economies in particular, and not just in the manufacturing sector but in the service sector too. China and India are producing a lot more highly trained people for their labour markets than the EU. Take the number of people qualifying as engineers, for example: China has almost three times as many as the EU. However, the emerging economies offer excellent export markets for the Union. But we can only succeed through the creation of new products – through innovation in other words.
In an open market, it is the best products that succeed, and it is impossible to stay at the leading edge without continuous investment in research and product development. The Member States have already taken decisions committing them to steadily increasing investment in research and development.
However, it is crucial that Europe is able to use this investment properly, to ensure that research feeds through into new, better, commercially useful goods and services.
The intention at Lahti is to draw attention to issues and challenges that call for joint EU action, with a view to creating an environment that stimulates innovation and promotes the effective application of it. In the context of the Lisbon Strategy the European Parliament has attached importance to innovation policy.
To support effective innovation, we need to create a comprehensive EU intellectual property rights strategy. Intellectual property rights – including patents to protect inventions – are very important in helping businesses to flourish and stay competitive.
One of the key issues is the quality of patents, fundamental to any effective and credible patent system. The Presidency takes the view that Europe needs a cost-effective but good-quality patent system, irrespective of the approach we take to developing it.
If we can create a better patent system, it will produce tangible savings for businesses on the cost of patenting. That in turn will help to keep innovation and research work in Europe.
Better cooperation between universities and business is essential for a successful innovation policy. There are plans to set up a new European Institute of Technology (EIT) based on a network model. The Commission will present its proposal next week.
Scientific, commercial and academic excellence must be brought together in joint projects. The focus must be on promoting innovation. The Presidency believes that the EIT can help Europe to make better use of existing potential in business and science.
Cooperation between the private and public sectors should also be improved to promote competitiveness. As examples of public-private partnership, Europe now has European Technology Platforms, industry-led strategic research initiatives. Companies have demonstrated a commendable willingness to invest in their chosen Platforms. Now we need a corresponding commitment from sources of public research funding.
If we are to promote innovation in the Union, it is important to speed up the creation of European standards. There is a lot of innovation that cannot be harnessed without common European standards. For example, what would Europe's mobile telephony market look like without the GSM standard?
Introducing a Europe-wide technical standard for mobile phones made it possible for Europe to become the world leader in the field. If mobile phones had been developed using only national standards, they would not have had the same success, nor would that success have spread so widely.
The rapid formulation of transparent and compatible standards is one of the keys to commercial success. It also benefits consumers. And, at the same time, it strengthens our competitive position and is a response to the rapid pace of technological change, enabling Europe to compete effectively with development work in other parts of the world.
Honourable Members,
Illegal immigration is a problem that concerns the whole of the European Union. Accordingly, we must seek joint solutions. The best way of expressing solidarity is through effective implementation of concrete measures.
At the Lahti meeting of Heads of State or Government, we will discuss illegal immigration, which is causing particular problems in the Mediterranean and in southern parts of the Union.
We think it is important for the EU to have a comprehensive and effective policy for managing migration – a policy that gives due attention to both illegal and legal immigration, including integration.
We must make effective use of existing instruments and consider new ways of supporting countries of origin and transit in their efforts to prevent illegal migration.
The various issues relating to migration have been discussed at every Council meeting on justice and home affairs during the Finnish EU Presidency. The matter will also be discussed next week at the informal dinner for ministers responsible for development cooperation. The Presidency intends to prepare decisions for the December European Council and enable the Union to effectively respond to the problem of illegal immigration.
Also the situation in Sudan/Darfur will be raised at the working lunch.
After their informal meeting in Lahti, the EU Heads of State or Government will be joined for dinner by the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. The dinner will provide an excellent opportunity for informal discussions on how to develop the strategic partnership between the EU and Russia. There is a wide range of cooperation instruments available, some covering areas where the partnership is ripe for development.
International issues provide a good example: this autumn, the international political agenda includes some matters where cooperation is of crucial importance, such as the Middle East, Iran and Kosovo.
Energy is an important aspect of the strategic partnership and we look forward to hearing President Putin’s thoughts on ways to develop his country’s energy sector, and the energy partnership between the EU and Russia.
Mr President, Honourable Members,
Thank you for allowing me to present to you our provisional agenda for the informal meeting of Heads of State or Government in Lahti. I will be happy to discuss any of the issues with you and to answer any questions you may have about what I have said.