President von der Leyen participates in the Leaders' Summit on offshore wind in the North Sea

Today the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, will travel to Esbjerg, Denmark, for the Leaders' Summit on offshore wind in the North Sea. Upon an invitation by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, President von der Leyen – along with the Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz and the Prime Ministers of Belgium, Alexander de Croo, and the Netherlands, Mark Rutte – will discuss ways to increase the production of offshore wind in the region, thus making the North Sea the Green Power Plant of Europe.

The Summit ties in with the REPowerEU plan, which the European Commission presented today as a roadmap to further decreasing dependence on Russian fossil fuels and to accelerate the transition to clean, reliable energy production. A key aim of the Summit is to identify ways to improve the conditions for business to help drive forward the transition to renewable energy sources, like offshore wind and green hydrogen.

President von der Leyen and the four Heads of Government will first exchange with company representatives during a high-level panel discussion open to the press. President von der Leyen and the four Heads of Government will then visit the offshore wind control centre of Vattenfall and a shipping facility by Siemens.

Related links

• Statement by President von der Leyen (18/5/2022)
• EC photos and videos of the Summit (18/5/2022)
• REPowerEU Plan (COM/2022/230 final)
• The North Seas Energy Cooperation