Shell chief calls for powerful EU energy supremo

Europe needs an energy minister to co-ordinate a common policy on the supply of gas from Russia, according to Jeroen Van der Veer, the chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell.

The Shell chief has called for better co-ordination between foreign policy and energy security and has argued that Europe was being weakened by member states negotiating rival pipeline deals with foreign energy suppliers.
“I don’t think it makes sense that every country makes its own policy towards the supply of Russian gas. Only Brussels can do that,” he said.

In an interview with The Times, Mr van der Veer suggested that Europe needed an energy minister, a post that might be combined with the environment, to deal with negotiations over the development and routing of new pipelines.

“I don’t think it is a strong Europe if individual countries make their own policies [towards energy security],” he said. His remarks echoed similar calls last year by Dominique de Villepin, then the French prime minister, for the EU to create an energy chief who could negotiate with Russia, Norway, Algeria and other national energy suppliers to the EU.

Times