煤炭是歐盟發(fā)電的頭號(hào)燃料，也是我們最經(jīng)濟(jì)、最安全的電力來(lái)源。2013年，盡管煤炭?jī)r(jià)格與天然氣價(jià)格相比仍然非常有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力，但由于多種原因，全歐盟的煤炭使用量下降了4%。國(guó)際煤炭市場(chǎng)以驚人的效率運(yùn)作，歐洲從激烈的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)中獲益，特別是俄羅斯、哥倫比亞和美國(guó)的煤炭出口商之間的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。歐洲能源政策委員會(huì)主要處理能源、氣候和其他與煤炭有關(guān)的政策，特別是與歐洲委員會(huì)的倡議和理事會(huì)和議會(huì)的決策過(guò)程有關(guān)的政策。由于個(gè)別會(huì)員國(guó)所作能源政策決定的重要性，就這些決定交換意見(jiàn)是能源政策委員會(huì)活動(dòng)的一個(gè)重要部分。對(duì)煤炭工業(yè)發(fā)展趨勢(shì)和當(dāng)前問(wèn)題進(jìn)行了分析、討論，并就采取適當(dāng)行動(dòng)達(dá)成了結(jié)論。委員會(huì)的立場(chǎng)文件和意見(jiàn)有助于布魯塞爾的決策進(jìn)程。在某些情況下，這些材料也用來(lái)通知會(huì)員國(guó)的決策者。2013年，能源政策委員會(huì)于3月26日和9月5日在布魯塞爾舉行會(huì)議。由歐洲議會(huì)議員Dr。Christian Ehler和Bogdan Marcinkiewicz先生，第四屆歐洲煤炭日是煤炭行業(yè)解釋煤炭對(duì)社會(huì)的寶貴貢獻(xiàn)的機(jī)會(huì)。它的貢獻(xiàn)往往被以歐洲議會(huì)議員為代表的公民所忽視，因?yàn)閷?duì)許多人來(lái)說(shuō)，他們與煤炭的唯一接觸就是電力，而在歐盟，29%的電力來(lái)自煤炭。西班牙的煤炭氣化和德國(guó)在世界各地的氣化技術(shù)的強(qiáng)大地位，以及2013年5月開(kāi)放的波蘭新潔凈煤炭技術(shù)中心，都在議程上。多年來(lái)，歐州環(huán)境委員會(huì)一直由2013年退休的戴維布魯爾先生擔(dān)任主席。今年6月，在作為委員會(huì)主席提出最后一份報(bào)告之后，執(zhí)行委員會(huì)感謝布魯爾先生對(duì)煤炭工業(yè)作出的巨大貢獻(xiàn)，并祝他退休后生活愉快。后來(lái)，在9月，成員們選舉菲爾加納先生為環(huán)境委員會(huì)的新主席，并展望了委員會(huì)所涵蓋的許多不同的主題，所有這些都與歐盟的環(huán)境立法和條例有關(guān)。

Coal is the No. 1 fuel for power generation in the European Union and remains our most economic and secure source of electricity. In 2013, coal use across the Union fell by 4% for a combination of reasons, even though coal prices remained very competitive compared with natural gas prices.  The international coal market functions with remarkable efficiency and Europe has benefitted from strong competition, notably between coal exporters in Russia, Colombia and the United States.

The EURACOAL Energy Policy Committee deals mainly with energy, climate and other coal-related policies, particularly in connection with initiatives of the European Commission and the decision- making processes of Council and Parliament. Because of the significance of energy policy decisions made by individual Member States, an exchange of views on these is an essential part of the Energy Policy Committee’s activities. Coal industry development trends and current issues are analysed, discussed and conclusions agreed on appropriate actions. The committee’s position papers and opinions contribute to the decision- making process in Brussels. In some cases, this material is also used to inform decision makers in Member States. In 2013, the Energy Policy Committee met on 26 March and on 5 September in Brussels.

Hosted in  the  European  Parliament  by  MEPs  Dr. Christian Ehler and Mr. Bogdan Marcinkiewicz, the 4^th European Coal Days were an opportunity for the industry to explain coal’s valuable contribution to society. Its contribution is often overlooked by the citizens represented by MEPs because, for many, their only contact with coal is in the form of electricity, 29% of which is generated from coal in the EU. Coal gasification in Spain and the strong position of German gasification technologies around the world were both on the agenda, alongside Poland’s new Clean Coal Technology Centre, opened in May 2013.

For many years, the EURACOAL Environment Committee was ably chaired by Mr. David Brewer who began his retirement in 2013. In June, after giving his last report as committee chairman, the Executive Committee thanked Mr. Brewer for his tremendous commitment to the coal industry and wished him a long and happy retirement. Later, in September, members elected Mr. Phil Garner as the new chairman of the Environment Committee and looked ahead to the many and varied topics covered by the committee, all linked by EU environmental legislation and regulations.