European Union News - Energy

The Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (AECI) has launched a call for proposals for the work programme 2010"Intelligent Energy for Europe". The budget of the call is EUR 56 million.

In European sustainable energy week 2010, new EU energy commissioner presents strategy to reduce Europe’s dependence on fossil fuel. New EU energy commissioner Günther Oettinger has made promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy his top priorities. He will lay down his strategy in a speech to open this year’s EU sustainable energy week.

The EU counts nearly half a billion citizens: their impact on the environment, and on energy consumption in particular, is huge. Europeans must act to curb this impact and manage resources wisely in order to protect the environment. Enter the ENERSIP project which will design a graphic interface to provide key services helping consumers save energy but also maintaining their comfort levels. The upshot is efficient energy production and consumption based on user demand.

The European Commission has selected 43 major energy projects, which will significantly contribute to the economic recovery in the EU, while increasing our security of energy supply by creating cross-border infrastructure. With this decision, the Commission grants € 2.3 billion to 31 gas and 12 electricity projects. This is the second financial decision under the Economic Recovery Package which amounts to almost 4 billion Euros. It is the largest amount the EU has ever spent on energy infrastructure.

The European Commission has taken a number of decisions to implement the organisational consequences of the allocation of portfolios to Commissioners. Two new Directorates-General have been created: DG Energy (ENER) and DG Climate Action (CLIM).

In its first meeting in 2010, the Gas Coordination Group, under the chairmanship of the Commission, has focused on the assessment of the situation on security of gas supply in the EU-27 and countries of the Energy Community and discussed priorities for the work of the Group in 2010.

The European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB), the bank of the EU Member States, have launched a grant aid initiative to help local and regional authorities make investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy. The global fight against climate change is a top priority for the European Union and it is acknowledged that local actors will play a significant role in meeting this challenge. The ELENA facility is designed to help cities and regions, through the provision of technical assistance, structure and implement projects in the most efficient way so they can attract outside finance.

Registration for the second edition of the High Level event on ICT for Energy Efficiency, which is organised by the European Commission's Information Society and Media Directorate-General, in cooperation with the Spanish Presidency of the European Union is already open.