Energy council meets in Brussels

The European Union and United States Energy Council will meet in Brussels today Wednesday for the fourth time since it was established in November 2009. EU High Representative, Catherine Ashton, and EU Energy Commissioner, Gunter Oettinger, will welcome the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who will be accompanied by Deputy US Secretary for energy, Daniel Pneman, according to an EU statement. In the EU-US Energy Council, the European Union and United States work to promote transparent and stable global energy markets. Stable energy markets are important for jobs and growth in Europe and the United States and influence the health of the global economy as a whole beyond their respective regions, it noted. The EU and the US both support the UN Secretary General's initiative 'Sustainable Energy for All' which aims to provide access to those 1.3 billion people who have no access to any modern form of energy. The meeting will discuss EU/US co-operation to enhance energy security through the diversification of gas and oil supply sources and routes, it added.