European Union News - Energy

Negotiators from the Council and MEPs reached a provisional agreement on the proposed energy efficiency directive. Under the agreement, Member States will set themselves indicative national targets and save energy in specific ways, such as renovating buildings and stipulating the size of energy savings to be delivered by utilities.

Member States are preparing for the roll-out of the smart metering systems, and therefore, the Commission has presented a Recommendation to them on preparations for the roll-out of smart metering systems. The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) welcomed such recommendation but regrets that the Commission has not provided more specific, more comprehensive and practical guidance in the Recommendation itself.

The Council agreed on a partial general approach on a draft regulation establishing the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). The draft regulation determines the conditions, methods and procedures for the Union's financial contribution to TEN projects, i.e. projects in the fields of transport, energy and telecommunications.

The Communication presented by the European Commission calls for a more coordinated European approach in the establishment and reform of support schemes and an increased use of renewable energy trading among Member States. In addition, it also indicates four main areas where efforts should be stepped up until 2020 to achieve EU renewable energy goals whilst being cost-efficient.

On the World Environment Day, the European Commission launched the European Resource Efficiency Platform in order to provide high-level guidance and advice on policy measures designed to transform the European economy towards a more sustainable growth path. In addition to this Platform, the Commission launched an online platform to gather contributions on this topic.

The European Commission presented through its Joint Research Centre a set of guidelines for conducting cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of smart grid projects. The guidelines are based in a JRC study that serves as key input to the definition of an eligibility assessment framework for "common interest" smart grids projects.

The Commission presented the report on EU nuclear stress test carried out in the EU. Among of the areas to be improved, the report identifies the lack of consistency in the assessment of natural hazards or the need for regular assessments and implementations of known safety measures. In fact, the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group and the EU Commission have agreed to continue with safety improvements of nuclear power plants and do a follow up to cover additional safety aspects.

The European Parliament approved a resolution in which calls call on the Commission and Council to explore any measures to avoid such situations in the future, including the partial suspension of tariff preferences. The resolution was adopted by 458 votes in favour, 71 against and 16 abstentions.

The European Parliament refused to remove diesel tax advantage over petrol according to a resolution that was passed in plenary session on the proposal to reform energy taxation. The report approved by the Parliament also provides recommendations to the Council of Ministers, which must decide unanimously for any changes to take effect.

19 winners in 10 EU countries are 2012's winners of the energy efficiency awards for buildings and lighting (GreenBuilding and GreenLight). These awards, managed by the Joint Research Centre, promote the reduction of energy consumption by public and private organisations on a voluntary basis.