merrion street

An Informal meeting of EU Energy Ministers was held in Tallinn, Estonia, yesterday. The Estonian Presidency has set a number of important objectives for their Presidency, one of which is “a digital Europe and the free movement of data”.

The ambition for Europe is to develop the digital aspects of Europe’s energy section, increasing the use of e-solutions and data, and the development of e-services.

Minister of State for Digital Development, Seán Kyne, TD, signed the Tallinn e-Energy Declaration. Minister Kyne said “This Declaration looks to find ways to digitise the energy market further and signals Ireland’s commitment to enhancing cooperation between participants in the energy sector (suppliers, generators, transmission operators) to make sure consumers can find the best prices and service providers via smart digital solutions.”

The encouragement of smart digital technologies to support activities such as increasing smart energy in homes in order to have a positive environmental impact is in full alignment with the broader ambition behind the EU’s Digital Single Market Strategy. This Strategy seeks to ensure that Europe fully embraces the digital revolution and opens up digital opportunities for people and businesses through the use of digital tools and systems.

The Declaration will serve as a useful reminder that the digital society in Europe can best be developed through seizing digitisation opportunities for cooperation and collaboration across a variety of sectors including energy and transport, so as to reap all the benefits that the Digital Single Market Strategy envisages.

Minister Kyne also attended a joint energy and transport Informal meeting on the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Minister Kyne discussed the positive impact the Connecting Europe Facility funding has had on improving Ireland’s energy security and how the Connecting Europe Facility can be developed and improved in the future.