Commenting on the need to drastically speed up the granting of permits for renewable energy projects, the European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Dan Jørgensen, explained on Tuesday 10 June, during an interview at an event of the media outlet Politico devoted to the development of clean energy in Europe, that this issue would be dealt with separately from the forthcoming ‘omnibus’ package for the simplification of existing legislation in the energy field.
“You could say it’s a simplification, but I think it goes a bit further than that”, he said.
The European Commission is currently carrying out a full analysis of the Commissioner’s portfolio, and he conceded that “we are working on something that fundamentally transforms the way we work today”.
“We will see where we can bring the greatest benefit in terms of supporting our green transition, lowering prices and increasing our energy security”, he continued.
The Commissioner also indicated that there were no plans to “reopen” the Energy Efficiency Directive. However, he acknowledged that it was extremely ambitious. A recent assessment of the National Energy and Climate Plans submitted highlights shortcomings on the part of Member States to meet the energy efficiency target of 11.7% by 2030 (see EUROPE 13650/7).
The Commissioner went on to acknowledge that the Commission was asking a great deal of Member States: “So we’re not going to burden them with new requirements and targets until we’re on the right track with this implementation (of existing legislation)”. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)