President George W. Bush on Thursday unveiled his energy strategy, which emphasises increasing domestic production of oil, gas and nuclear power.

Gantelet said the Commission - the executive arm of the 15-country European Union - saw much of interest in the plan. U.S. concerns about a secure energy supply and on investing in research for cleaner fuels were shared by the EU, he said.

But the plan lacked adequate measures to reduce greenhouse gases - a policy which required steps to reduce demand such as energy taxes, he said.

As it stood, the U.S. plan would not be enough to get U.S. emissions down to the level required under the 1997 United Nations Kyoto agreement on climate change - a treaty Bush rejected in March.

"(The plan) confirms - if that was necessary - that they are not taking into account their Kyoto targets," Gantelet said.

"Of course, if they were ever to come back to this target they would have to change a part of their plans, including to try to find the right way to avoid a worsening of climate change."

Gantelet later said the key elements missing were a major commitment to renewable energies such as solar and wind power and any legislative programme for improving energy efficiency.

The EU has said it aims to meet its Kyoto target of reducing greenhouse gases - primarily carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning - with or without the United States.