The European Union (EU) should map out a common energy policy and establish a common energy market to reinforce energy security, EU financial ministers and central bank chiefs said on Saturday.

EU financial ministers and central bank governors met in Helsinki on Friday and Saturday with the energy security issue at the top of the agenda.

EU nations should diversify their energy sources, improve energy efficiency, encourage the use of renewable energy and increase funding for energy-related research so as to strengthen energy security, participants to the two-day meeting agreed.

EU nations should increase their investments in the energy sector. The European Investment Bank and other financial institutions should play a greater role in the construction of the EU's energy infrastructures, said Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank.

EU nations should set up a common energy market and formulate a unified strategy to improve energy efficiency, the participants emphasized.

It is not wise that some EU nations have adopted energy protectionism in recent years. A transparent and stable energy market is an essential precondition for attracting more investments in the energy field, said EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia.

Source: Xinhua