President of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso and Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs today received the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Nobuo Tanaka who presented the main findings of IEA Review of the EU's Energy Policy.

President of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso and Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs today received the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Nobuo Tanaka who presented the main findings of IEA Review of the EU's Energy Policy. This is the first time that the IEA has made an in-depth analysis of European Energy Policy. The Review strongly endorses the broad outlines of the Commission's energy proposals tabled during the last year. President of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso said, "I am delighted that the IEA has endorsed so positively the Commission's climate change and energy proposals set out in 2007". "The review of EU energy policy is a highly visible and politically important exercise that is very useful for the Commission. It shows clearly that the EU is now recognised as a single entity in energy matters", said Commissioner Piebalgs. The Review endorses the broad outline of the Commission's ambitious energy proposals tabled during the last year. It specifically praises the coherent EU energy and climate change approach and the Commission's market liberalisation package for electricity and gas. The Review encourages the Commission to pursue ownership unbundling of networks from supply and generation. It also makes important recommendations concerning the need to increase research funding and establish a more coherent external energy policy with a stronger role for the EU institutions. The review comes at a critical time with the energy proposals currently under discussion between the European Commission, the EU Member States in the Council and the European Parliament. The Commission will take into account the findings of the IEA review in its future work to further improve its energy policy. The Review should also become an important reference for those interested in European energy issues. The IEA, based in Paris, is the world’s most important intergovernmental body dealing with the energy market, policy analysis and energy crisis management. The IEA’s activities include in-depth country studies of the energy policies of its member countries, as well as key non-member countries.