The European Union is talking with oil producers in the hope of persuading them to raise production and reduce oil costs

The European Union is talking with oil producers in the hope of persuading them to raise production and reduce oil costs, EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said on Friday. "We will continue a dialogue with the producers to increase the supply", he told reporters after talks with Austrian Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser in Vienna. Asked if he wanted the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to increase production in order to bring oil costs down, he replied: "It would be useful." But Almunia said Europe would have to encourage energy efficiency because there was little chance of oil returning to the $25-per-barrel levels of two years ago. "Unfortunately I don’t see the possibility for a bigger reduction in the future, so we need to reinforce our policies for improving efficiency in using energy." "Europe has improved a lot in the energy efficiency of our economy and we will continue to do so in the future," he said. Almunia also said he was optimistic European finance ministers would agree on a new Stability Pact of fiscal rules when the ministers meet again in early March and be able to get unanimous support from a summit of government and state heads later next month.