Brussels, 27/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 26 January, the European Commission Vice President in charge of the Energy Union, Maros Sefcovic, expressed his determination to combat energy poverty in the EU by including this social dimension in all energy policies.
Speaking at the European Policy Centre's Launch Event Task Force on Energy Poverty in Brussels, the Commissioner explained: “European consumers are today the most protected and they live in the most egalitarian continent in the world. But that is not enough. If over 10% of European households cannot afford to heat their homes properly, we must do more. If pensioners have to sleep in the kitchen, because this is the only warm place in the house; if children cannot do their homework because their family was disconnected from electricity, or if people fall sick or die early because they cannot heat or cool their homes, then our efforts clearly have not been enough. And these things happen in today's Europe”.
During his Energy Union Tour, the Commissioner said that he had heard about the problems in many countries due to high energy prices, not only in our poorer member states but even in countries like Germany, which offers social benefits for energy but where 350,000 households were temporarily disconnected from electricity in 2015 because they could not pay the bill. He pointed out that “Energy poverty is a reality in Europe, which we have to take into account when we elaborate our policies - also at EU level”.
In terms of action, Sefcovic promised that this social dimension would be taken into account in the Commission proposals for the new electricity market concept, energy efficiency directive review and the directive on energy performance in buildings.
He highlighted the fact that the EU directives on energy market liberalisation included provisions on energy and fuel disconnections and at a national level, 17 member states had already introduced measures to help households experiencing difficulty and avoid having their electricity cut off. Nonetheless, the Commissioner regretted the lack of similar measures in 11 other member states.
Sefcovic said “I don't want to ban disconnections. Energy has a price… But: Maybe we can establish a few more safeguards before someone is disconnected”. Among the possible tools for reducing energy insecurity that the Commissioner mentioned included greater competition, which he believed would help reduce prices and facilitate changes in energy provider, as well as support for funding work to improve energy performance in buildings, which he said “was very often linked” to energy and security. Sefcovic also promised that an €18 billion envelope would be earmarked for energy security by 2020, as part of European structural and investment funds and the European Fund for Strategic Investment. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)