Running from 11 to 15 April, the EU Sustainable Energy Week will feature this year nearly 150 events in Brussels and over 450 Energy Days throughout 43 countries in Europe and around the Mediterranean, with more than 30,000 participants. This includes presentations of new projects, debates and conferences. The core event will take place in Brussels in order to debate on the best use of energy efficiency and renewable energy across Europe.

The core event will be to debate on the best use of energy efficiency and renewable energy across Europe. 'Smart energy for a sustainable future' is 2011's theme of the EU Sustainable Energy Week  (EUSEW). This year’s events cover a range of issues, including: energy efficiency, renewable energy solutions -such as biomass, solar, and wind energy-, reductions of greenhouse emissions, and sustainable energy for transport. Nonetheless, EUSEW 2011 will largely focus on "Energy efficiency" as main policy theme and message thereby contributing to the recently adopted EU Energy strategy 2020 and Energy Efficiency Plan.

The EU Sustainable Energy Week, which celebrates its fifth edition, is the key annual event of the Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign. This year EUSEW focuses in activities dedicated to energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions. It aims to demonstrate to businesses, decision-makers and the wider public that sustainable energy technologies are viable, cost-effective and good for the environment and our economy.

Commissioner Oettinger kicked-off the opening ceremony with a speech dedicated to Europe’s energy future. He also presented the new Smart Grid Communication. The strategy paper focuses on two-way digital communications to improve the efficiency and help consumers to better manage their appliances at home, for example using smart meters. Smart grids and smart meters offer consumers more possibilities to control their consumption and save more energy.