The latest version of the State of the Energy Union report was debated by MEPs at a plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday 24 November.
Presented to MEPs by Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, the report highlights the progress made on energy targets in the ‘Fit for 55’ package presented by the European Commission on 14 July (see EUROPE 12762/1).
“This is a report published against the backdrop of an energy crisis [see EUROPE 12816/1] and soaring gas prices”, Ms Simson said, conceding at the same time that while major progress had been made, “a lot of work remains to be done”.
The report points out that the renewable energy market has “shown its resilience” during 2020 and that renewable energy production has exceeded that of fossil fuels.
In addition, the report also indicates a reduction in subsidies for fossil fuels.
“Member States have kept to the timetable, thanks in part to more affordable prices for solar and wind technologies”, said Ms Simson. “But it’s not enough, we have to keep accelerating”, she added.
This last message seems to have been relatively well retained by MEPs, who took turns in the Chamber to echo the Estonian Commissioner’s warnings.
The EPP welcomes the ambitions, but regrets the lack of investment. “I am very worried about investments, the world has changed, it’s a race. Decarbonisation is essential for the industry”, insisted Christian Elher (EPP, Germany).
“Without investment, we will lose this race”, added Cristian Bușoi (EPP, Romania).
For S&D, the focus should be on fuel poverty. “Energy independence must be ensured. Energy poverty affects 31 million European citizens and the health crisis will worsen this situation”, hammered Mohammed Chahim (S&D, Netherlands). He added: “We need to review the issue of joint purchasing for energy”.
For others, such as The Left MEP Marc Botenga (Belgium), the solution to this crisis lies partly in “taking back control of companies”, so that the market is able to “look after competition and prices”.
The issue of energy independence, which came up several times during the debate, seems to be a common concern for a large majority of political groups in the European Parliament.
“Our greenhouse gas emissions are not decreasing fast enough and we are far from meeting our climate targets. More than 60% of the energy consumed is imported from third countries”, summarised Christophe Grudler (Renew Europe, France).
On the same subject, several MEPs from the ECR Group also called for a “change of attitude” and “increased pressure on the supplier Gazprom”. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)