Personal tools
You are here: Home
Recent and upcoming EEF Events
17-03-2010 : Unexplored territory: energy efficiency on the supply side at the invitation of Alstom vCal iCal
10-03-2010 : Power Plant Basics At the invitation of EPPSA (European Power Plant Suppliers Association)
09-03-2010 : Gas Storage : Enhancing security of supply and facilitating market development At the invitation of GIE (Gas Infrastructure Europe)
23-02-2010 : Achieving Energy Efficiency through informing end-users at the invitation of Landis+Gyr
09-02-2010 : EU energy policy at the crossroads: challenges and opportunities for a competitive EU refining industry at the invitation of EUROPIA
26-01-2010 : How can fuel cells and hydrogen help Europe meet its energy challenges? Case study: The postal services and logistics business at the invitation of FuelCellEurope
19-01-2010 : Energising Waste - How Waste-to-Energy helps to reach EU’s renewable energy targets at the invitation of CEWEP
News Wire
25-02-2010 : Commission adopts biomass sustainability report [EU Renewable Sector]
24-02-2010 : State aid: Commission takes Greece to Court for failure to recover illegal tax exemptions [State Aids -notification, decision, opposition, non-opposition,...-]
24-02-2010 : IEA Executive Director talks with Visegrad 4+ leaders on energy security [International Energy Agency]
19-02-2010 : Responding to Climate Change [International Energy Agency]
18-02-2010 : IEA, OPEC, OECD and World Bank cooperate on G20 Energy Subsidy Agenda [International Energy Agency]
18-02-2010 : Non-opposition to a notified concentration - Glencore/Chemoil Energy - Candidate case for simplified procedure [Cases where the Commission raised no opposition]
18-02-2010 : Prior notification of a concentration - E.ON /Masdar / JV - Candidate case for simplified procedure [Companies Concentration -notification, decision, opposition, non-opposition,...-]
17-02-2010 : Commission creates two new Directorates-General for Energy and Climate Action [EU Institutions Activities]
17-02-2010 : Non-opposition to a notified concentration - EnBW Kraftwerke/Evonik Power Minerals/JV - Candidate case for simplified procedure [Cases where the Commission raised no opposition]
 
Document Actions

 

Welcome to the EEF website

 

The EEF provides an opportunity for its members to gain a better understanding of energy and energy related issues, through frank and informal discussions on the immensely varied issues present within the world of energy today.

 

EEF next events

 09-03-2010 : Gas Storage : Enhancing security of supply and facilitating market development At the invitation of GIE (Gas Infrastructure Europe)

10-03-2010 : Power Plant Basics At the invitation of EPPSA (European Power Plant Suppliers Association)

 

 

 


Letter from the Publisher

The European Energy Forum is not a lobby group !

Published on 2010/02/28
See all the previous
Letters from the Publisher

In January 2008, I wrote an editorial with this same title that mainly covered the historical aspects of the subject. As the recent past is part of history, I emphasised the following:

 

Nowadays, given the many action proposals submitted to us, our President Giles Chichester enforces a specific and rigorous procedure for defining our programmes. Proposals are sent to us every 6 months by prospective sponsors. These proposals are considered at a meeting of our bureau (President, Treasurer and Vice-Presidents), then by our Technical and Industrial Advisory Committee comprising all our Associate members (Industrialists) and our Board of Directors (MEPs). The President then makes the final, impartial selection of the proposals we are able to accommodate within our schedule. This process eradicates any favouritism.

 

This is still true today. We are periodically asked by some where our success, envied by lobby groups, comes from. The answer is clear and simple: we are not a lobby group!

As accurate as it is, this incisive answer is based on facts that deserve to be explained.

 

*
**

 

The extreme diversity of the energy sector and the large number of actors involved compared to other industrial and commercial sectors should be noted. It has several dimensions such as, for example, the technology represented by thermonuclear fusion whose development has not yet moved beyond the project stage. At the other extreme is the industry's geopolitical dimension where we are tangling with Russia, our primary hydrocarbon products supplier, and with China, our main competitor in this field. There are also primary energy producers and energy processors (electricity, etc.). There are, of course, transporters and distributors as well as energy equipment builders. There are even market regulators. And we shouldn't forget the consumers!

Our association has 80 members from the energy sector known as “Associate Members”.

In addition, our “Active Members” include 50 MEPs from a number of different nations. Each has their own opinions. When the active and associate members of the European Energy Forum come together, they do not automatically, or deliberately, share common trends in thought.

 

*
**

 

To the specificity of the energy sector which I have briefly described above must be added that of our organisation.

As a result of its basic and original design, our association is managed by Active Members (MEPs) and relies for is existence on contributions from Associate Members (primarily industrialists). This setup has worked effectively for 15 years thanks to the mutual trust that exists between these two types of members.

They can communicate with each other when needed through the Forum team which is in permanent contact with both Associate and Active Members.

In addition, views are exchanged twice a year, formally if required, during the meetings of the Industrial and Technical Advisory Committee (ITAC). It is at these times that members express and strengthen mutual trust.

*
**

 

There is also a rule, acknowledged and followed by all members, that ensures that the events we organise are an opportunity for their sponsors to present and offer for debate any current situations and issues which may potentially affect the European Union's energy policy. These events are never used to promote the sponsors.

What's more, all of our members are invited to all of our events and, as a result, all points of view can be expressed and discussed. This ensures that any Associate Member who, hypothetically, strayed from actual fact in their presentation would immediately be contradicted and corrected.

 

*
**

 

It is this concept and the way it is implemented that guarantees that, in the eyes of third parties, and of the European Commission in particular, the European Energy Forum is not a lobby group.

 

*
**

 

This specific nature of « non lobby group » is recognised by the European Commission. The Directorate General for Energy and Transport (DG TREN) designated one of its civil servants, the highly considered Mr Samuele Furfari, who is also professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, as our contact person with the institution. The Commission allows him to devote some of his work time, his competences and expertise to the European Energy Forum. The EEF will continue to give an  added value to what M. Oettinger called the "europeanisation of the energy policy".

 


PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY. BY ACCESSING THIS SITE AND ANY PAGES THEREOF, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS BELOW. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS BELOW, DO NOT ACCESS THIS SITE, OR ANY PAGES THEREOF.

COPYRIGHT © FORUM EUROPEEN DE L'ENERGIE - EUROPEAN ENERGY FORUM - ASSOCIATION EUROPEENNE DE L'ENERGIE - FONDATION EUROPEENNE DE L'ENERGIE - EUROPEAN ENERGY FOUNDATION (FEE/EEF) 1994-2109. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Copyright in the pages and in the screens displaying the pages, and in the information and material therein and in their arrangement, is owned by the FEE/EEF unless otherwise indicated.

TRADEMARKS.
FORUM EUROPEEN DE L'ENERGIE - EUROPEAN ENERGY FORUM - ASSOCIATION EUROPEENNE DE L'ENERGIE - FONDATION EUROPEENNE DE L'ENERGIE - EUROPEAN ENERGY FOUNDATION and the logo are registered trademarks and service marks.

NO WARRANTY.
The information and materials contained in this site, including text, graphics, links or other items - are provided "as is," "as available". The FEE/EEF does not warrant the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of this information and materials and expressly disclaims liability for errors or omissions in this information and materials. No warranty of any kind, implied, express or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and freedom from computer virus, is given in conjunction with the information and materials.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.
In no event will the FEE/EEF be liable for any damages, including without limitation direct or indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages, losses or expenses arising in connection with this site or use thereof or inability to use by any party, or in connection with any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus or line or system failure, even if the FEE/EEF, or representatives thereof, are advised of the possibility of such damages, losses or expenses. Hyperlinks to other internet resources are at your own risk; the content, accuracy, opinions expressed, and other links provided by these resources are not investigated, verified, monitored, or endorsed by the FEE/EEF.

PRIVACY STATEMENT.
We are committed to providing our visitors with a web site that respects their privacy. This page summarizes the privacy policy and practices. We do not automatically gather any personal information from you, such as your name, phone number, e-mail or address. This information is only obtained if you supply it voluntarily, usually through contacting us via e-mail, or registering. Any personal information you do provide is protected under the Belgian privacy protection law of 1998 (www.privacy.fgov.be). We use software that receives and records the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer that has contacted our Web site. We make no attempt to link these addresses with the identity of individuals visiting our site. We do not regularly use "cookies" to track how our visitors use the site. Whenever we enable "cookies" to facilitate your transactions, we will first inform you. Visitor information is not disclosed to anyone except the FEE/EEF personnel who need the information, e.g., to respond to a request.

W A R N I N G :

The FEE/EEF is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Lists of websites are not exhaustive, and inclusion or exclusion from those lists has no reflection on the FEE/EEF's opinion on these sites and/or the companies, organisations, institutions, states, people behind them. The FEE/EEF does not warrant the bona fides of any of the companies listed. Some websites use cookies, ActiveX, JavaScript, Flash, Shockwave, and/or other applets. Some URL return an error code (404, etc.) if visitor's firewall security levels are too high and strict. Some links refer to a PDF document requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader to be viewed.