European Commission Has No Plans Yet for EU-Wide Shale Gas Ban

The debate on European unconventionals development arrived this week at the doorstep of Lithuanian Presidency at a two-day meeting of EU ministers on environment being held in Vilnius.

Addressing the controversial issue, European Commissioner for the Environment, Janez Potocnik said that the European Commission (EC) has not yet decided on the level of regulation on shale gas exploration and production.

The environment chief continued there were no plans to impose a blanket ban on hydraulic fracturing, but that the EC will ensure that the shale gas and shale oil extraction method of hydraulic fracturing or fracking is "done in a safe and secure way."

"We don't know yet what it will be - either new legislation or guidelines or whatever. We are still in the impact assessment phase where the decision has not been entirely taken," commented Potocnik.

Potocnik said the European Commission will lay out rules to address environmental concerns by the end of the year, to settle "some serious legislative gaps."

There is no common position among member states about shale gas development and whether it should be the regulated at a EU level or by national legislation.

The Commissioner added that the EC "is not at all interfering with the individual decision of the member state what will be their energy mix.”

In addition to the extraction of shale gas, the event will discuss issues on funding of implementation of objectives and actions under EU biologic diversity strategy up to 2020, as well as issues of climate.