The Council adopted the energy efficiency directive with the Finnish delegation abstaining and the Spanish and Portuguese delegations voting against. According to the Council, the directive establishes a common framework of measures for the promotion of energy efficiency within the Union in order to achieve its 2020 20% headline target on energy efficiency. Each member state will also be obliged to set an indicative national energy efficiency target.

Following a first-reading agreement with the European Parliament and with the Finnish delegation abstaining and the Spanish and Portuguese delegations voting against, the Council adopted the energy efficiency directive. The directive paves the way for further energy efficiency improvements beyond 2020 and establishes a common framework of measures for the promotion of energy efficiency.

Based on either primary or final energy consumption, primary or final energy savings or energy intensity, each member state will be obliged to set an indicative national energy efficiency target. By 30 June 2014, the Commission will assess the progress achieved and whether the Union is likely to achieve energy consumption of no more than 1474 Mtoe of primary energy and/or no more than 1078 Mtoe of final energy in 2020.

Furthermore, each member state will set up an energy efficiency obligation scheme ensuring that energy distributors and/or retail energy sales companies will achieve by the end of 2020 a cumulative end-use energy savings target of 1.5 % of the annual energy sales to final consumers. However, to achieve this target, member states will have the option to use a bundle of flexibility measures as well as equivalent alternative measures. The directive also contains provisions on energy audits and energy management systems, metering, billing information, and promotion of efficiency in heating and cooling, energy transformation, transmission and distribution and energy services.