Activities of Krišjānis KARIŅŠ related to 2015/2108(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Towards a European Energy Union - Making Europe's electricity grid fit for 2020 (debate) LV
Amendments (24)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Acknowledges that renewable energy and increased energy efficiency leading to energy savings are criticalimportant means for a stable, secure, and independent and democratic energy system for the EU, which generates high- quality jobs and wealth within a future- oriented sustainable economy; underlines that a higher degree of electricity interconnectivity and smart grids are necessary for developing such a system;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Recognises that electricity interconnection is a precondition for completing an integrated EU internal electricity market, which, if well designed, will help to achieve our climate objectives and improve the competitiveness of European businesses, as well as EU's geopolitical position through greater energy security and independence, as well as reduce energy isolation; stresses that the electricity interconnectors also need to be tackled, planned and executed through strong coordinated regional cooperation with respect for the national competences to determine energy mix;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that, according to the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), investments in the necessary interconnection projects of pan-European significance could be as high as EUR 150 billion by 2030, and notes with interest that for each euro invested in the network, electricity prices could be mitigated by EUR 2; notes that independent studies show that with similar investment in the network infrastructure, Europe could cover a large share of its electric load with renewable energy sources1 ; __________________ 1 ‘powE[R] 2030 – A European grid for ¾ renewable electricity by 2030’, Greenpeace, 2014.
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses the importance of open access and availability of the interconnectors to overcome the remaining barriers for the functioning of the European electricity market; urges the European Commission and national regulators to ensure transparency and close monitoring of the availability of the interconnectors to prevent any unjustified bottlenecks, in addition to the quantitative target of 10 %;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the frequently congested transmission networks might be linked to cross-border lines but might also be due to weak internal gridavailability of national networks; insists that a holistic approach should be taken when assessing the need for, and the priority of, reinforcement / extension, taking into account both cross-border and national connections, in particular the real use of the existing interconnection lines and the availabilcapacity of existing national infrastructure;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses the role of the European Commission as guardian of a decentralisn unbundled and accessible electricity system, as well as free competition and equal access to the market; in which Member States shall grantenable access to smaller suppliers to the grid in accordance with fair market rules;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Regrets the lackEmphasizes the importance of a transparent decision-making process leading to the establishment of the projects of common interest (PCI) list; regrets further the predominant role of ENTSO-E, transmission system operators (TSOs) and project promoters in the development of a harmonisn aligned cost-benefit analysis methodology, in preparing the ten- year network development plans and the network codes, and in evaluating the costs and benefits of each project; recalls the need to provide complete assessments including social and environmental impacts; calls on the Commission, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and national regulators to play a more proactive role in order to develop a moreensure a neutral, transparent and democraticinclusive consultative process, including the effective participation of Parliament and giving voting status to civil society representatives accordance also with the Infrastructure Regulation, including the effective involvement of the European Parliament; calls on the Commission to assess the situations in which the use of best available technology (BAT) could be established as a preconditiondominant parameter for granting EU funds to projects;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recalls that projects on the PCI list benefit from preferential regulatory treatment, fast-track planning, a binding time limit of 3.5 years for the granting of a permit and faster environmental assessment procedures, and may also be eligible for extra funding under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI);
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Stresses that the lengthy permit granting procedure is a major challenge for new high-voltage lines in Europe; and calls on Member States to facilitate speedier processes;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recognises that public awareness and support is essential to ensure fast implementation of interconnector projects; acknowledges that democraticinclusive processes and environmental standards must not be undermined when building new power lines; calls on the project promoters to use BAT for new interconnectors in order to reduce conflictsensure coherence between project investments in the grids and environmental impactsustainability;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses that the implementation of a ‘one-stop shop' approach contributes to shortening the permit granting procedures; recalls that the TEN-E Regulation requires each Member State to designate a National Competent Authority responsible for facilitating, shortening and coordinating the permit process at national level; bwelieves that an interconnected electricity market needs a singlcomes in this respect the evaluation of the ‘"one-stop -shop' at EU level and asks the Commission to make a proposal, legislative if necessary, in this regard"-approach by the European Commission to take place in 2017 and encourages the Commission in this framework to assess the benefits of a single 'one-stop shop' at EU level;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on the European Commission to provide ACER with the adequate competences and powers to gather the necessary information on each individual cross-border transmission capacity as to allow ACER to fulfil its monitoring responsibilities effectively;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes the underRecalls the importance of sufficient staffing and lack of resources of ACER; asks the EU budgetary authority to provide the agency with the necessary resources, in particular sufficient own staff, in order to allow the agency to fulfil the tasks assigned to it by legislation; calls for ACER's role to be strengthened, in particular in relation to ENTSO-E;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. NotStresses the underimportance of sufficient staffing and/or lack of independence of a number of national energy regulators; calls on the Commission to carry out an independent audit by the end of 2016 at the latest on the resources available to, and the degree of independence achieved so far by, all national energy regulators, including the identification of recommendations on how to improve the situation;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Notes that there is still a lack ofneed for increased transparency with regard to the calculation of cross-border capacities made available to the market and the frequency, magnitude and reasons of curtailment on interconnectors; doubts, in this context, that most of the significant curtailments are fully addressed; asks the Commission to provide ACER with the adequate competences and powers to gather the necessary information on each individual cross-border transmission capacity so as to allow ACER to fulfil its monitoring responsibilities effectivelywelcomes in this respect the swift conclusion of the Network Codes in order to tackle these issues;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Supports the Commission's recommendation that the CEF be concentrated on a few key projects; considers that adequate EU financing should alsocontinue be made available also beyond 2020 to support the implementaconstruction of non-commercially viable electricity connection projects necessary to ensure the functioning of the internal energy market; stresses the importance of the EIB in supporting investors in commercially viable electricity infrastructure projects; notes the establishment of the European Fund for Strategic Investments and encourages the Commission to ensure that the fund effectively attracts investments in electricity interconnection projects;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Urges the Commission, furthermore, to: 1) encourage investments in the best available technology, which, while costlier, offers considerable financial advantages as well as time savings in the long run; 2) conduct a review of the financing rules with the aim of streamlining the existing mechanisms and highlighting the principle that wealthier Member States are responsible for projects involving their countries, while EU financial support should be used in countries facing greater challenges; and 3) strengthen incentives for further investments in the grid by, inter alia, introducing a requirement for profits made from transmission congestion rent to be reinvested in additional interconnectors3) strengthen incentives for further investments in the grid;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes that planned interconnectors are expected to allow the Baltic States to reach the 10 % goal by 2015; is concerned that the Baltic States' networks are still synchronised with and dependent on the Russian electricity system, which is an impediment for a truly integrated and properly functioning European electricity market; calls for a rapid synchronisation of the Baltic States' electricity networks' synchronisation with the Continental European Network before 2025 in order to ensure full integration in the EU internal electricity market and, a higher security of electricity supply and secure system operation; asks the Member States concerned to take the necessary steps to initiate and ENTSO-E to launch a formal procedure for synchronous system extension towards Baltic countries; invites the European Commission to support and monitor the implementation of this project; highlights the common Nordic power market as a best practice for cooperation between Member States in creating and developing electricity market; acknowledges the importance of higher interconnectivity between Poland and the Nordic electricity market in order for Poland to reach its 10 % target; welcomes the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding on reinforced BEMIP, underlines that regional cooperation through BEMIP shall continue and solidarity between Member States in implementing PCIs further enhanced;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Stresses that South-Eastern Europe (SEE) is endowed with a vast – and largely untapped – potential in terms of renewablrgy sources; notes that cooperation and coordination on long-term planning and building of a SEE regional grid infrastructure must go beyond the EU in order to include non-EU Western Balkan countries and Turkey; calls for the establishment of a new platform where all key stakeholders in the region could discuss and provide political backing to joint projects designed to fully exploit the region's renewables-based electricity potential; e.g. in terms of renewables; recognises that the EU's Central East South Europe Gas Connectivity High Level Group, established in February 2015, could become such a platform, provided its mandate is expanded to include the electricity domain and involvement of SEE's non-EU countries; acknowledges that the platform would enable the Commission to provide leadership and political support;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Stresses the importance of more interconnection between Spain and France to support the renewables inan integrated European market and reinforce the rnegionotiating capacity of the EU, whilst minimising problems and delays by using the BAT in order to preserve the environment and still increase interconnectivity; notes the Madrid Declaration, signed on 4 March 2015, and the establishment of a High Level Group on Interconnections for South-West Europe as an important steps towards increasing the region's interconnectivity; recognizes that the projects included in the current PCI list are not sufficient to achieve the 10% target in 2020 and, therefore, calls for the inclusion of new projects in the PCI list as soon as possible;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Notes that Europe's energy system has evolved since 2002, when the 10 % electricity interconnection target was originally set – in particular, renewable energy sources have been developed across the continent; question; recommends in this context athat an EU-wide 15 % target based on installed capacity for 2030 does not stand alone; asks the Commission, therefore, to assess the setting of regional, complementary targets and to find better qualitative and quantitative benchmarks, such as trade flows, peak flows and bottlenecks, that highlight how much interconnection is needed;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Stresses the need to derive a futurepromote further electricity interconnection target from thein order to support EU's long-term climate goals as well as from a sustainable energy system that the EU is looking forin EU; notes in this context that the degree of interconnection required will depend ion particular on whether: a) the EU is serious in applying theseveral parameters, including: a) the development of national energy mix, b) the application in national and EU policy of ‘energy efficiency first' principle and more demand-side response measures, b)c) the development of smart grids and decentralised renewables-based electricity and its correlated smart grids are further, d) developed, c)ment of energy storage technologies – including at household orand municipality levels – are developed, d) grids are optimised and use th, e) the use best available technologies, ef) peoplthe are given a higher rocognition of the European people as prosumers in the energy system, and fg) athe creation of clear incentives for investments in the grids is created;