In attendance were Jorge Seguro Sanches, Portuguese secretary of state for energy; Joe Mizzi, Maltese minister for energy and water management; and Kathleen Van Brempt, Vice-President of the S&D Group in the European Parliament.
Jorge Seguro Sanches, chairman of the network of PES Energy Ministers, said:
“Environmental pollution primarily harms those that are worse off in our societies. Climate change and resource scarcity require our economies to operate in a more energy-efficient and a resource-efficient way, so they also directly affect workers.
“The social impacts of energy legislation must always be taken into due account. Our decisions must improve the everyday lives of all Europeans. This means that we want to eradicate energy poverty in Europe. Energy must be affordable for all citizens.
“This also means that the need for a new, clean energy model is the background against which we want to modernise our industrial base. In a just transition, with the close involvement of social partners, we want to create new and quality jobs in the green economy.
“As socialist and social democratic energy ministers we are convinced that we must make environmental protection and the transition to a cleaner energy model our agenda for social progress.
“At the same time, we should not miss the opportunity to endorse the Clean Energy Package by maintaining ambitious proposals in order to comply with the Paris Agreement.”