Introduction
When presenting the European Energy Security Strategy (EESS) on 28th May, EU Energy
Commissioner Günther Oettinger gave a remarkable performance: a 35 minute talk without
once mentioning renewable energy. This wilful ignorance of one of the European Union’s
primary successes did not only clash with his institutional duties, common sense and a broad
array of facts, it also failed to explain the contents of the document he was presenting. The
EESS proposed by the Commission, does, after all, mention renewables as being one of two
components within one of the eight pillars of energy security: “increasing energy production in
the European Union”. Though utterly insufficient, it would at least have been worth a mention
during the 35 minutes.
The German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE) welcomes the EESS proposals for
immediate action aimed at increasing the EU’s resilience to a potential major gas supply
disruption, and, in spirit of enhanced European solidarity, for regions more exposed to this
risk.