In Luxembourg on Monday 26 June, the energy ministers of the EU struggled to reach general approaches of the Council on the draft revised directives on the energy efficiency and energy performance of buildings, two key texts of the clean energy package presented by the Commission at the end of last year. They will usher in tense negotiations under the Estonian Presidency with the Parliament and the Commission, particularly on the first of the two texts, the ambition of which has been scaled down considerably.
As regards the draft revised directive on energy efficiency, the ministers finally accepted a compromise abandoning a reference to the binding nature of the 30% energy efficiency target up to 2030. The text refers only to an “overall objective” of 30% energy efficiency.
The compromise is also built around flexibility regarding the compulsory objective of 1.5% energy savings, leaving the member states free to reduce this objective to 1% from 2024, unless the medium-term impact assessment shows that the EU is not on course to reach its targets by 2030.
“Going home without a compromise would have been a disaster”, said the representative of Germany which, along with France, Sweden, Denmark and Luxembourg, annexed a political statement stressing the higher level of ambition needed for the EU to comply with its commitments under the international climate agreement.
The Commissioner for Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, who was bitterly disappointed by the watering down of the level of ambition in the Commission’s initial text, also said that he would fight alongside the European Parliament to reverse the trend.
As regards the revised directive on the energy performance of buildings, which aims to promote and support the viable renovation of buildings and the decarbonisation of the European stock of buildings, a sector which accounts for 40% of all energy consumed in Europe, the ministers reached a compromise on a proposal that requires the member states to establish long-term renovation strategies, whilst tackling energy poverty.
Another significant feature of the revised text is the promotion of electro-mobility, by requiring at least one charging point for every ten parking spaces for electric vehicles in non-residential buildings and pre-cabling for every parking space in residential buildings. These requirements will apply to all buildings with more than ten parking spaces. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)