The European Commission (EC) opened a consultation to explore views on how to implement the Commission's recommendation on the international role of the euro in the field of energy, the EC announced following a meeting held to tackle the dollar's domination in energy trade in Brussels on Thursday.
The move follows the Commission's communication “towards a stronger international role of the euro, adopted on 5 December 2018, which outlined benefits of a strengthened international role of the euro for the EU and the international system and proposed initiatives to boost the euro's role.'
The consultation will remain open until March 31, while the Commission will report on progress by the summer, the EC noted.
On Dec. 5, the EC announced the adoption of a recommendation on the international role of the euro in the field of energy, promoting its wider use in this 'strategic sector.'
'Strengthening the international role of the euro in the field of energy investment and trade will help reduce the risk of supply disruptions and promote the autonomy of European businesses,' Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete, was quoted as saying in the statement.
Canete said the vast majority of the long-term contracts of the EC's energy imports are not denominated in euros, a fact he said was not sustainable nor reflects the role the euro should have worldwide.
According to the EC, the EU is the world's largest energy importer with an annual energy import bill averaging €300 billion in the last five years, out of which roughly 85 percent is paid in U.S. dollars.
The consultation follows a series of others within the EU in other sectors, which aim to fine-tune where initiatives can be taken to shore up the use of euro in trade, according to the Commission.
The EU agreed to gather a comprehensive industrial group together in an effort to break the monopoly of the U.S. dollar in energy trading and promote the euro in Brussels on Thursday.
The industrial group included executives from European oil and gas firms such as Austria's OMV, Italy's Eni, Belgium's Fluxys and France's Engie.
The relationship between the EU and the U.S. has been strained over a number of issues since the latter withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, otherwise known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, in May last year despite stiff opposition from close U.S. allies in Europe.
The six remaining parties to the accord -- Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran -- announced the creation of a system within the EU to facilitate ongoing payments to Iran in circumvention of U.S. sanctions.
In the two years of his presidency, Trump announced the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord and the Trans Pacific Partnership. The president is also reported to have suggested multiple times last year that he wanted the U.S. to pull out of NATO, according to the New York Times.
By Ebru Sengul
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr