European Union News - Energy

The Council adopted a revised eco-design directive following a first-reading agreement with the European Parliament. The new directive extends the scope of the existing directive 2005/32 by covering in principle all energy-related products.

The Swedish Presidency of the EU and the European Commission have called on international negotiators to make decisive progress towards an ambitious global climate change agreement at two weeks of world climate talks in Bangkok starting on 28 September. The Bangkok meeting is the penultimate preparatory session before the Copenhagen U.N. climate conference in December at which the global deal is due to be concluded.

The Section for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure of the EESC (European Economic and Social) has organized the event Save it! Energy Efficiency Days, held in Brussels between 22 and 25 September as a prelude to the "Overshoot Day", an international day established in 1987 to raise awareness about the problem of ecological deficit, and which marks the day when humanity starts using more natural resources than the planet can produce in a sustainable way every year.

More needs to be done to prevent future disruption and early-warning mechanisms (which proved ineffective in the 2009 Russia-Ukraine energy crisis) need to be reviewed, MEPs told the European Commission in a resolution. MEPs also say that gas storage capacity needs to be expanded and interconnections improved.

A new report published by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) predicts that European offshore wind projects - both existing and planned - could soon supply 10% of Europe's electricity. The report, entitled 'Oceans of opportunity', was presented at the European Offshore Wind 2009 conference in Stockholm, Sweden on 14 September.

The EU is phasing out traditional light bulbs over the next three years in favour of a new generation of energy-efficient lighting. Under new rules coming into force in September, manufacturers and importers can no longer sell clear incandescent light bulbs of 100 watts or above in the EU. However, shops may continue to sell bulbs already in stock.

A new EU-funded project aims to develop economically and environmentally efficient techniques for the production of biofuels. Called NEMO ('Novel high-performance enzymes and micro-organisms for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to bioethanol'), the initiative will generate new ways of converting agricultural and forestry waste, such as straw and wood chips, into liquid biofuels.

During the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, informal ministerial meetings will be held at seven different locations, from Malmö in the south to Umeå in the north. These meetings already started on July 6th with the informal ministerial meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council, and will end up with ministerial eGovernment meeting and conference on November 18th to 20th.

The Official Journal of the European Union of 14 August 2009 contains the Regulation on the European Parliament and the Council  establishing an Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators.

The European Commission and some leading International Financial Institutions (IFIs) – World Bank, EIB, IMF and EBRD reached on July 31st 2009 an understanding with the Government of Ukraine on concrete measures to reform the Ukrainian energy market and Naftogaz, the state-owned energy company. The agreement should provide the stability needed to significantly reduce the risk of a further gas crisis between Ukraine and Russia and therefore provide the security of supply that Member States and our consumers expect.