The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted an opinion (208 votes in favour, 4 against, 7 abstentions) on Wednesday 22 March on the European Commission's 2022 State of the Energy Union report, in the presence of the Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson.
Published on 18 October, this report takes stock of the EU’s energy policy response to the current energy crisis. During the debate, the members of the Committee discussed future ambitions relating to the security of supply and energy sovereignty for citizens and businesses.
“For the EESC, it is clear that the only sustainable solution to the current energy and climate crisis lies in a rapid transition to clean energy. This is why the Committee has made the energy transition its main political priority at the beginning of 2022. We have closely followed and supported the work of REPowerEU”, said EESC President Christa Schweng.
Invited to speak, Kadri Simson reviewed the emergency measures taken by the European Union to tackle the energy crisis and the structural solutions that have been tabled, such as the Fit for 55 package proposals on energy efficiency, the development of renewable energies and the proposed reform of the electricity market.
To replace Europe's dependence on fossil fuels, the Commissioner highlighted two specific initiatives: increasing the production of biomethane in Member States and replacing gas heating systems with heat pumps. “The number of heat pumps sold amounted to 3.6 million cubic metres of gas and we will set out a heat pump action plan this year”, she said.
One of the rapporteurs of opinion TEN/791 on the state of the Energy Union, Marcin Nowacki (Polish), welcomed the Commission’s work in an emergency situation, but regretted that the report presented on the state of the Energy Union 2022 did not sufficiently highlight the EU’s strategic autonomy. “No less than eight Chinese producers are among the ‘top 10’ wind turbine producers in the world. And the two European producers are losing market share, according to the ranking for the year 2022. China also has a very large market share when it comes to photovoltaic panels, since the country accounts for 75% of their global supply.
The other two rapporteurs, Angelo Pagliara (Workers, Italian) and Lutz Ribbe (Various Interests, German), called for more to be done on a number of issues: fighting speculation and market abuse, greater involvement of citizens and having a clear and consistent idea between Member States on former and new electricity market instruments in the framework of the reform (see EUROPE 13141/1).
The Committee will adopt a specific opinion on the reform of the electricity market in June 2023. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)