Brussels, 19/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 19 November, the European Commission referred Greece to the European Court of Justice for failing to comply with obligations under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive on (2010/31/EU).
According to the directive, member states have to set minimum energy performance requirements for buildings, with a view to achieving the best combination between investments and savings, also known as “cost-optimal levels”. Calculating the cost-optimal levels is key for member states to fully exploit the energy efficiency and renewable energy potential of the national buildings stock and to avoid citizens spending more money than necessary on efficiency improvements to their housing and offices. The Commission explains that the lack of such calculations would furthermore affect the ability of individual owners and tenants to take the right decisions for new constructions or renovations.
The Commission is also critical of Greece because the country was officially reminded of its obligation and received a reasoned opinion on 27 November 2014. To date, Greece is the only member state that did not perform the cost-optimal calculations and did not send a report to the Commission. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)