The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) said, during its annual conference in Brussels on 19 July, that it was time to define a clear strategy and commitment to tackle energy poverty more effectively.
According to Eurostat, energy poverty affected 8% of the European population in 2020 and 6.9% in 2021. With the explosion in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the situation has deteriorated. In 2022, 9.3% of European citizens, or around 42 million people across Europe, were unable to heat their homes adequately.
For Baiba Miltoviča, President of the EESC’s Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society (TEN), the measures put in place so far have not worked. “We need a new deal, a new agreement supported by strong political will where all levels of governance push in the same direction”.
According to the EESC, the REPowerEU plan is not enough. The European Union must set out a clear strategy, where all political levels (local, national and European) come together and support each other, but also where the emphasis is increasingly on renewable energies and local energy communities.
The EESC proposes, among other things, to establish mechanisms to control inflation and reform the current electricity market, to lower energy consumption through energy saving and efficiency measures, to stimulate investment in renewable energies, to increase the renovation rate of buildings in order to improve the energy efficiency of housing, and to provide additional financial resources at local level. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)