27/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - Renewable heating and cooling sector underlines deficiencies in the Energy Union package. In a joint press release of 25 February, the European associations Aebiom (biomass), ESTIF (solar and thermal) and EGEC (geothermal) state that they regret the Commission-proposed strategy's lack of reference to their sector's contribution to energy security, its lack of clarity on synergies between energy efficiency and renewable energy (notably in the building sector), and its lack of proposal for separate governance for renewable and energy efficiency to ensure consistency of national policies. Aebiom, ESTIF and EGEC also call for the phase-out of subsidies for fossil fuels, which amounted to €6.5 billion in 2012. (EH)