EU governments to address energy issues

12.00.00am GMT Fri 24th Mar 2006

Speaking after the first day of the Spring European Council where security of energy supply is one of the top issues on the agenda, South West Liberal Democrat Euro-MP Graham Watson said:

Mr Watson campaigns for energy saving lightbulbs

"EU governments need to bite the bullet on implementing gas and electricity liberalisation. States that fail to comply should be dealt with in the appropriate manner and fined.

"Recent price hikes have shown just how high a price we are paying for the failure of other countries to open up their gas markets. We should all be concerned about what the outcome of this week's talks will mean for our future fuel bills."

Graham campaigns for an end to over-reliance on fossil fuels, through investment in renewable energy and increased efforts on energy conservation. He has recently highlighted the need for low-energy lightbulbs that work with dimmer switches and changed to a green energy supplier. He added:

"While politicians attempt to make sure that the energy supply to the EU is secure, as consumers we must all do our bit to reduce consumption by being more vigilant over the amount of energy we are using. That will also have the happy side effect of reducing our bills!"

Note:

EU heads of state and government are meeting for the Spring European Council on 23rd-24th March 2006 in Brussels.