Europe aims for energy policy that’s self-reliant

Europe, the world’s second-biggest energy consumer behind the USA, is scrambling to become less dependent on foreign sources of energy.

At the same time that President Bush is urging America to wean itself from its addiction to oil from unstable parts of the world, European leaders are calling for a more self-sufficient energy policy that relies less on oil and natural gas.

“Europe is becoming ever more dependent on oil and gas imports from geopolitically uncertain regions,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned Feb. 9 in a speech at Georgetown University in Washington. “We have to do something about this, and we have to do it now.”

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