28 November 2017
Member States must be able to implement new EU rules on energy efficiency otherwise they serve no purpose, warned ECR Flemish MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt today following a vote in the parliament’s energy committee.
Member States must be able to implement new EU rules on energy efficiency otherwise they serve no purpose, warned ECR Flemish MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt today following a vote in the parliament’s energy committee.
The proposals will establish an EU wide framework for energy efficiency up until 2030, including a binding EU-wide efficiency target of 40% as proposed by groups on the left. The ECR Group supported an indicative 30% target.
The position adopted by the committee will now pass to the whole parliament to vote in January 2018. The ECR group will attempt to reverse the position adopted by the committee on the target, as well as supporting the introduction of more flexibility within the current annual obligations on energy companies to save energy amongst their final consumers.
We also want to ensure there is no overlap with the EU’s flagship climate policy, the Emissions Trading Scheme, which was established to reduce industrial emissions and drive investment in low carbon technologies. These proposals also increase the risk of that companies will relocate outside the EU where targets and prices are much lower – this will cost jobs jobs with no benefit for the environment.
Speaking after the vote Van Bossuyt, who chairs the parliament’s internal market committee and followed the proposals on behalf of the ECR Group, said:
“We all want to see an ambitious strategy for improving efficiency but there is no point introducing targets and policies if countries and companies are unable to implement them. Member States and local authorities need to be able to decide the detail of efficiency policies for themselves – a policy that is affordable and works in one country may be completely inappropriate and expensive in another.
“Governments and local authorities need to step up efforts to renovate their building stocks but this is expensive and places huge pressure on budgets that are already stretched and we should avoid introducing any further burdens at the EU level. “