In an EU Council document published on Tuesday 18 July, Latvia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia set out their reasons for not supporting the compromise reached by the co-legislators on the revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive (see EUROPE 13139/11), which was approved by the European Parliament on 11 July (see EUROPE 13220/7).
Latvia
For Latvia, the targets in Article 8 for new savings set each year from 1 January 2021 (starting at 0.8% and rising to 1.9% annual savings from 2026 until 2030) and the measures to be taken to achieve these targets are impossible to achieve, “given Latvia’s national situation, the structure of its economy, its energy balance and the opportunities available to its communities”.
Hungary
Hungary is also “concerned about the increased level of ambition set out in the final compromise” regarding energy saving measures (Article 8) and general energy efficiency targets (Article 4) (reducing energy consumption by 11.7% by 2030 compared to the 2020 reference scenario), as well as limiting the use of fossil fuels after 2026.
“We believe that the provisions of the directive will impose a disproportionate economic and social burden on Hungary and that the objectives cannot be implemented in a cost-effective manner”, the document states.
The country also insists that the specificities and different starting positions of the Member States should be taken into account in achieving energy savings, and questions the simultaneous use of the terms “gender” and “sex” in recital 125 of Article 24(4) concerning the criteria for heating and cooling.
Poland
Similarly, the Polish government points out that “the proposed ambition levels do not take into account their feasibility or the current economic crisis, during which energy efficiency must be implemented using the most cost-effective measures”.
Poland also reiterates its position on the ‘Fit for 55’ package as a whole. The country believes that this package sets unrealistic targets and ambitions and is being dealt with on an incorrect legal basis.
Slovakia
Slovakia also considers that the objectives set out in Articles 4 and 8 of the Energy Efficiency Directive exceed the limits of feasibility, given its national situation and the structure of its economy, and declares that it will abstain from voting in favour of the revision of the Directive.
To see the document: https://aeur.eu/f/86u
To review the provisional agreement on the Energy Efficiency Directive: https://aeur.eu/f/86w (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)