Industry Committee endorses EU coordinators for key energy projects

On the 17th July 2007, the European Parliament's Industry, Research and Energy Committee approved the nomination of four project coordinators in the field of energy: The coordinators, nominated by the European Commission, will be responsible for monitoring several priority energy infrastructure projects - this in order to ensure their timely and successful realisation.

"I am very pleased that the ITRE Committee has approved by an overwhelming majority the proposal of the European Commission to nominate four European Coordinators on four very important energy network projects", said the Chairwoman of the ITRE Committee, Mrs Angelika Niebler. "I am very confident that the nominated European Coordinators will be a good choice and that they will make these important European energy infrastructure projects a success", she added.

"I am delighted of ITRE'S committee green light for these four Coordinators," said Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs. "This is not just another bureaucratic exercise • it is something which the project organisers have asked for and which all Member States have welcomed. It will bring real added value, and help us strengthen the economic foundations for the future prosperity of our citizens".

The task of the Coordinators will be to offer strategic support and practical advice. This will include assessing obstacles; bringing interested parties together to work out optimal solutions; assessing the impact of the projects (on, for instance, the environment), and devising appropriate implementation strategies. The Coordinators will report annually (to the Commission, Parliament and the Member States) on the progress achieved in each project.

The four coordinators are Wladyslaw Mielczarski, Georg Wilhelm Adamowitsch, Mario Monti and Jozias van Aartsen. Professor Mielczarski has solid experience in the field of energy networks and will be responsible for the Northern European Powerlink; Mr. Adamowitsch, former Economics Minister in the Federal Republic of Germany, will oversee the offshore wind project; Professor Monti, a member of the European Commission from 1995 to 2004, will deal with the France-Spain power connection; and Mr Van Aartsen, former Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, will be in charge of the Nabucco gas pipeline project.  

Reproduced with the permission of the European Commission IP/07/1106