EU moves to avert energy crisis

BRUSSELS, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- The European Union will not stand idle while its energy dependence evolves to the point of a regional crisis, the European Commission president said.

The European Union Thursday in Brussels unveiled its 20-20-20 package whereby the 27-member bloc looks to increase its use of renewable energy, cut consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions each by 20 percent by the end of the next decade.

Europe depends on imports for more than 50 percent of its energy consumption, with 42 percent of the total resources, and 30 percent of its gas, coming from Russia. Europe is looking to several major pipeline arteries, notably the Nabucco pipeline from the Caspian through Turkey, to ease its dependency on Russia.

"We will not stand idly by while we sleepwalk into Europe's energy dependence crisis," said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

The EU Energy Security and Solidarity Action Plan calls for a "supergrid" that will link the infrastructure in the Baltics and Mediterranean to the North Sea, as well as a gas corridor from the Caspian and Middle East, the EU Observer reported.

"This is one of the EU's highest energy security priorities," the action plan says.