Negotiators from the Council of the EU and from the European Parliament, led by rapporteur Dario Tamburrano (EFDD, Italy), reached provisional political agreement on Tuesday 21 March on the draft regulation revising the framework established by the 2010 directive on the labelling of the energy performance of household goods introduced in 1995 to inform consumers how appliances such as washing machines, televisions and fridges compared in terms of energy use.
The revised framework will return to single labelling system, going from A to G, replacing the system based on different classes (for example, A+ to A+++) that could prove confusing to consumers.
The new framework seeks to make the new energy labelling system stricter, more consistent and better able to keep pace with technological progress.
Timescales have been established for the first rescaling of all labelled products, according to three product categories. Once all A+ labels have disappeared from the market, further rescaling will be triggered by a surplus in the top classes, namely 30 % in class A or 50% in class A+B. At the time of rescaling, the top two classes are to be left empty, aiming for a ten-year validity period of the label.
The agreement on the new framework makes provision for the introduction, in January 2019, of a product registration database to support market surveillance activities by the member states.
It will also set up a public database containing all energy efficiency labels, giving consumers a better tool to compare the energy efficiency of household appliances.
To provide future-proofing, the legislation introduces provisions on software updates and smart appliances. The new framework explicitly bans the use of defeat devices that allow energy efficiency tests to be passed but mean that different performances will be produced in normal use.
The political agreement reached on Tuesday still has to be upheld by votes in the Council of the EU (voting by ambassadors as early as the end of next week) and Parliament.
The Commission, which presented its proposals for revision in July 2015, welcomed the agreement which “will give greater power to consumers”.
“Technological innovations allow European citizens to enjoy the most advanced products on the market; it was therefore high time to bring our labelling scale up to date”, said European Commission Vice-President with responsibility for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic.
The revised energy efficiency label – together with eco-design – can save households close to €500 per year, increase manufacturers and retailers' overall revenue by over €65 billion per year and, across the EU, save close to the annual energy consumption of Italy and all the Baltic countries combined, Energy and Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete said. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)