President (Mr Gonzalez Gomez), Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction
I am pleased to join this Foratom workshop.

This evening, I would like to look ahead. I would also like to take a wider view of Europe’s energy future — a future in which all energy options play a full and sustainable role in Europe’s economy; and one in which we, Europe’s consumers, have a greater understanding about the energy which we use.

To do this, I will consider the importance to Europe’s energy future of

1. diversity in our energy mix
2. durability or sustainability of our energy policies, and
3. diplomacy or the international dimension of the EU energy policy.

Diversity in the Energy Mix
Let me begin with diversity. The Green Paper “Towards a European strategy for the security of energy supply ”, adopted by the European Commission in November 2000, opened up a wide and dispassionate debate on energy options in Europe.

The Green Paper addressed the real issues which need to guide the rational choices of energy policies. In this context, difficult topics have been covered, for instance our increasing dependence on energy imports, the place of nuclear, transport developments or global warming.