Cooperation on energy security priority for Germany, new minister tells EU partners
Clean Energy Wire
Germany’s new economy and energy minister, Katherina Reiche, has emphasised the value in working with European partners to ensure energy supply for the continent. “Cooperation with European partners is of the utmost importance to me,” she said at a doorstep ahead of a meeting of EU energy ministers in Warsaw, Poland.
Reiche – who is responsible for the country’s energy policy for the coming four years – doubled down on earlier statements that the main objectives also during the transition to climate neutrality would have to be “to guarantee security of supply, ensure affordable prices and secure the continent's competitiveness,” and that renewables expansion would have to happen in a way that guarantees system security. She also called for “absolute technological openness” when aiming to meet climate protection targets while protecting energy security.
The minister’s statements are in line with the new government’s broader approach to strengthen relations with European partners in many policy fields, including energy and climate. Chancellor Friedrich Merz last week called for reviving relations with important partners like France or Poland. Overall, Germany's new coalition government has set out a steady but cautious path in climate and energy policy, committing to current EU targets but showing little ambition to go beyond.
