Reported by The Guardian
Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Denmark say cooperation on clean energy will benefit both sides
Five European leaders have called for closer ties with Britain ahead of a keenly anticipated EU-UK summit.
The leaders of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Denmark, said deeper cooperation on clean energy would benefit both sides in a letter to Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa.
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Von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, and Costa, who leads the European Council, will meet Andy Burnham on 20 November in Brussels, where they hope to sign deals on food and drink, carbon emissions and youth exchange.
The five countries also want the two sides to speed up work on another strand of negotiations: Britain’s return to the EU’s internal electricity market. “We call on you and the UK to agree during the summit on a path towards the conclusion of these negotiations,” states the letter seen by the Guardian from the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz; the Dutch prime minister, Rob Jetten; Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever; Luc Frieden, the prime minister of Luxembourg; and Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen.
Describing the UK as a “close partner in the energy transition”, the leaders said Britain’s integration into the EU’s internal electricity market was “necessary to unlock the full potential of the North Sea area and transform it into the largest clean energy hub in the world”.
The UK and nine other European countries signed a pact earlier this year to accelerate the rollout of offshore windfarms in the 2030s and build a power grid in the North Sea. Britain’s exit from the EU’s internal electricity market is seen as cramping the development of North Sea energy and adding to costs.
Bringing Britain into the internal electricity market could be controversial, however, because the UK would be required to make a contribution to the EU budget, specifically to cohesion funds that promote economic development in poorer regions. British officials are wary of a deal in which taxpayers’ money could be used to fund infrastructure projects in central and eastern Europe.
Last year negotiations on…