07/02/2019 (Agence Europe) – In 2017, energy consumption in the EU continued to increase (+1%) for the third consecutive year, “moving away from the energy efficiency targets”, according to data published on Thursday 7 February by Eurostat. In 2017, primary energy consumption in the EU was 5.3% above the 2020 energy efficiency target. It decreased in comparison with the previous year in eight Member States (Estonia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, France and Belgium). The highest increase was recorded in Malta (+12.9%), followed by Romania (+5.8%), Spain (+5.4%) and Slovakia (+5.1%). Eurostat also reports that, in 2017, final energy consumption in the EU was 3.3% above the energy efficiency target for 2020. (LC)