At the meeting of the European energy ministers in Luxembourg on Monday 11 June, Spain and Italy kick started the tense negotiations between the Council of the EU and the European Parliament on the key texts of the 'clean energy' package - the revised directives on energy efficiency and renewable energies and the regulation on the 'energy/climate' system of governance, on the eve of the trialogue sessions that will be decisive to conclude these dossiers before the Bulgarian Presidency ends at the end of June.
The new Spanish and Italian governments, which are more ambitious than their predecessors on the energy transition, expressed their determination to move the Council's position towards Parliament's ambitions regarding the proportion of renewable energies in the primary energy mix and rate of improvement in energy efficiency up to 2030, specifically two targets of 35%.
“I consider Parliament's position to be the most solvent: 35% renewables and 35% energy efficiency”, said the new Spanish Minister for the ecological transition, Teresa Ribera, at the start of the meeting of the Energy Council.
“We have changed our position. Spain is no longer a burden and is coming into line with the countries with a vocation for progress, for the future”, Ribera said upon arrival in Luxembourg. “We must come into line with the most ambitious targets for renewables and energy efficiency, as this is the only way to respect the Paris Agreement”, she stressed.
“We must raise the level of ambition in terms of efficiency and renewables, in line with Parliament's proposal. It is not just realistic, but desirable”, the Italian representative told the Council.
Spain and Italy have swelled the ranks of the coalition of the most ambitious countries, led by France, Sweden and Denmark, calling for two targets of 35%.
“Italy and Spain have got behind the most ambitious countries' position. This makes a clear difference (…). It will make it easier for the Presidency to reach a compromise”, said the Commissioner for Energy and the Climate, Miguel Arias Cañete.
“There is a clear division into four groups of countries and the Presidency must make efforts to get as many countries as possible on board and avoid blocking minorities”, he added.
As well as the group of countries in favour of the most ambitious targets, which also includes Lithuania, Luxembourg and Portugal (for renewables), he said that there are those in favour of targets of more than 30%, but below 35%, others in favour of 30% targets and “others that have yet to decide”.
Ahead of the trialogues of 13 June on the revised 'energy efficiency' and 'renewables' directives, the Bulgarian Presidency has proposed two options for each text, with varying levels of ambition and flexibility.
For energy efficiency, it proposes the option of a binding target of 30-31% plus an article 7 on flexibility, to allow an increase in energy efficiency in final use in the order of 0.9%-1.0% and the inclusion of the transport sector up to 30%.
The alternative option provides for a higher target, of 32-33%, but this will not be binding, together with an energy efficiency target in final use of 0.7%-0.8%, excluding the transport sector or including it up to 10%.
On renewables, the Presidency has proposed two options. One features a target of 30%-31%, the other a target of 32-33%, but the higher the target, the more flexibility the member states will have in the sectors covered (electricity, transport and heating and cooling).
“We are in an irreversible energy transition phase. We have to understand that it is a dawn rather than a change, in terms of growth and jobs, reducing dependency on energy imports and the prices of fossil fuels”, the Commissioner insisted.
In view of the conservatism of the Eastern countries, such as Poland, Hungary and Romania, on environmental matters, the Bulgarian Presidency will have its work cut out to reach a compromise that is balanced for the Council and satisfactory to Parliament, which Cañete also called upon to show flexibility. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)