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Energy
News announcement4 April 2023Directorate-General for Energy

EU-US Energy Council reiterates importance of bilateral cooperation

©European Union 2023

The EU and the US held today the Energy Council Ministerial Meeting in Brussels to further enhance cooperation in the energy sector. The Energy Council was co-chaired by EU High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell and Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the US Deputy Secretary for Energy, David Turk. They discussed the progress that has been made since the last meeting of the Energy Council in Washington on 7 February 2022– notably as regards the energy security in Europe and its neighbourhood and the joint decarbonisation efforts. 

The topics covered today included how to ensure energy security while accelerating the green transition. In particular, the co-chairs discussed the outlook for next winter, including the situation in Ukraine and Moldova, as well as how to accelerate decarbonisation through clean-energy technologies and energy savings, while ensuring that the clean energy transition is socially just. As initiators of the Global Methane Pledge, both sides also exchange views on their ongoing work to reduce methane emissions.

In a joint statement, the two partners reiterated their commitment to coordinate bilateral and multilateral responses to keep global energy markets stable and to support the energy transition required to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. The statement also confirmed the intention to intensify cooperation to reduce dependency on Russia for nuclear materials and fuel cycle services and to support ongoing efforts by affected EU countries to diversify nuclear fuel supplies, as appropriate.

Following the meeting, Commissioner Simson and US Deputy Secretary Turk witnessed the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the TotalEnergies Anomaly Detection Initiatives (TADI) of the Pôle d’Etudes et de Recherche de Lacq and the Colorado State University Methane Emission Technology Evaluation Center (METEC) on developing a path towards international standards for methane leak detection and quantification solutions

The EU and the US are strategic partners working closely together to push globally for ambitious climate action and net zero emissions, as well as enhancement of energy security and promotion of energy diversification.

The ministerial-level EU-US Energy Council is the main cooperation framework to address mid and long-term issues. Last year it was accompanied by the EU-US Task Force on Energy Security set up by President von der Leyen and President Biden to tackle together the energy crisis spurred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Commission and the White House have published a progress report on the work of the Task Force, setting out the priorities for 2023. 

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Publication date
4 April 2023
Author
Directorate-General for Energy