Energy Policy in the EU

Latest news on the energy policy of the European Union.

Nuclear Stress Tests - guide — 11 May 2011, 16:19 CET

The "stress tests" are a set of additional safety criteria drawn up in the light of the nuclear accident in Fukushima. These EU wide criteria will be in addition to safety standards already being in place at national level. Their aim is to assess whether the safety margins used in the licensing of nuclear power plants were sufficient to cover unexpected events.

Time to start phase out of nuclear across Europe — 26 April 2011, 11:45 CET

On the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Friends of the Earth Europe stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and neighbouring countries, remembering those affected by the catastrophe. Friends of the Earth Europe also stands with those still affected by the tsunami and ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan – where the severity level of the nuclear crisis has been raised to maximum, on a par with Chernobyl.

Trans-European networks — 17 April 2011, 20:47 CET

EU grants and loans for energy infrastructure - TENs. New guidelines for trans-European energy networks (TEN-E) list and rank, according to the objectives and priorities laid down, projects eligible for Community assistance, and introduce the concept of 'project of European interest'. They also strengthen project coordination and now fully incorporate the new Member States.

Intelligent Energy Europe — 15 January 2013, 21:48 CET

There are many untapped opportunities to save energy and encourage the use of renewable energy sources in Europe, but market conditions do not always help. The Intelligent Energy - Europe programme is the EU's tool for funding action to improve these conditions and move us towards a more energy intelligent Europe.

Energy — 15 January 2013, 21:49 CET

Grants from the EU in the fields of Energy

Europe INNOVA — 15 April 2011, 22:37 CET

Europe INNOVA has the ambition to become the main pan-European platform for innovation professionals, which will enable them to discuss, develop, test and exchange ‘better practices’ in support of innovators and to contribute to a better understanding of the innovation patterns in different sectors. To this end, Europe INNOVA will be driven by innovation agencies and other public or private innovation support providers that are interested in working together in partnerships to search for new forms of innovation support at European level.

Revision of the Energy Taxation Directive - guide — 13 April 2011, 18:20 CET

The European Commission has presented a proposal to overhaul the outdated rules on the taxation of energy products in the European Union. The new rules aim to restructure the way energy products are taxed to remove current imbalances and take into account both their CO2 emissions and energy content. Existing energy taxes would be split into two components that, taken together, would determine the overall rate at which a product is taxed. The Commission wants to promote energy efficiency and consumption of more environmentally friendly products and to avoid distortions of competition in the Single Market. The proposal will help Member States to redesign their overall tax structures in a way that contributes to growth and employment by shifting taxation from labour to consumption. The revised Directive would enter into force as of 2013. Long transitional periods for the full alignment of taxation of the energy content, until 2023, will leave time for industry to adapt to the new taxation structure.

ORECCA project: Offshore Renewable Energy Conversion platforms - Coordination Action — 07 April 2011, 22:35 CET

ORECCA (Offshore Renewable Energy Conversion platforms - Coordination Action) aims to create a framework for knowledge sharing, and developing a research roadmap for activities in the context of offshore renewable energy.

Carbon capture and storage: NER 300 call — 15 March 2011, 12:55 CET

"NER 300" programme is the world's largest demonstration programme for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. The NER 300 programme aims to fund at least 8 carbon capture and storage (CCS) and at least 34 innovative renewable energy demonstration projects. More than 150 proposals for large-scale demonstration projects have already been submitted.

European Commission’s Energy Efficiency Plan — 13 March 2011, 22:27 CET

The European Commission published its Energy Efficiency Plan yesterday. This document was previously referred to as the energy efficiency action plan, but the word "action" had disappeared from the title, which the cynic would see as symbolic of Europe’s performance on this issue.

EU maps out road to climate catastrophe — 09 March 2011, 23:21 CET

Two important climate and energy papers were released today by the European Commission in Brussels amid criticism from Friends of the Earth Europe.

European Energy Efficiency Plan - guide — 08 March 2011, 20:46 CET

The European Commission today adopted a plan for saving more energy through concrete measures. Energy efficiency is a key tool for strengthening Europe's competitiveness and reduces energy dependence, while decreasing the level of emissions. The set of measures proposed aims at creating substantial benefits for households, businesses and public authorities: it should transform our daily lives and generate financial savings of up to EUR 1000 per household every year. It should improve the EU's industrial competitiveness with a potential for the creation of up to 2 million jobs.

Roadmap for moving to a low carbon economy in 2050 - guide — 15 March 2011, 21:02 CET

The European Commission today adopted a Roadmap for transforming the European Union into a competitive low carbon economy by 2050. The Roadmap describes the cost-effective pathway to reach the EU's objective of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% of 1990 levels by 2050. Based on the cost-effectiveness analysis undertaken, the Roadmap gives direction to sectoral policies, national and regional low-carbon strategies and long-term investments. The EU needs to start working now on long-term strategies, and the Roadmap provides guidance on how this transition can be achieved in the most cost-effective way. The European Commission has also taken the initiative because leading the global transition to a low carbon and resource-efficient economy will have multiple benefits for the EU.

Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) — 03 March 2011, 17:24 CET

ACER's mission is to assist National Regulatory Authorities in exercising, at Community level, the regulatory tasks that they perform in the Member States and, where necessary, to coordinate their action. The Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) is a European Union body established in 2010. ACER has its official seat in Ljubljana, Republic of Slovenia.

Third legislative package for an internal EU gas and electricity market - guide — 03 March 2011, 17:23 CET

The aim of the third energy package is to make the energy market fully effective and to create a single EU gas and electricity market. This will help to keep prices as low as possible and increase standards of service and security of supply.

Low Voltage Directive — 03 March 2011, 13:29 CET

The Low Voltage Directive forms part of the CE Marking system and covers certain low voltage products.

Carbon capture and storage: EU advancing, but not fast enough — 23 February 2011, 23:26 CET

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is not only essential to meet the EU’s climate objectives; it is also a major business opportunity. So it is welcome that the Commission is serious about promoting this technology. However, the timetable for selecting the projects and awarding the grants makes the 2015 deadline look unlikely to be met.

EU 'energy summit' — 09 February 2011, 19:33 CET

The EU summit on 4 February was billed as an energy summit. In fact it occurred during the on-going Eurozone crisis and faster moving events in Egypt, so politicians spent most of the time talking about these issues rather than energy.

EREC 2011 - Europe's Renewable Energy Policy Conference (Brussels, from 24 May 2011, 08:00 CET to 24 May 2011, 20:00 CET) —

EREC 2011 will provide an opportunity to showcase and demonstrate commitment to the European renewable energy arena and to directly engage with senior political decision makers from all over Europe.

COGEN Europe Annual Conference 2011 (Brussels, from 24 March 2011, 00:00 CET to 24 March 2011, 00:00 CET) —

The COGEN Europe Annual Conference & Dinner 2011: "Cogeneration at the foundation of Europe’s energy policy" is organised by COGEN Europe and is sponsored by ExxonMobil, Centrax.

EUR 8bn available for energy efficiency in Europe — 20 January 2011, 16:40 CET

Energy efficiency is the quickest and most cost-effective way to create jobs in green industries, improve energy security and reduce emissions. Improving homes also improves the health and happiness of inhabitants. The payback period – the time before the savings are greater than the initial investment – is usually only a few years. However, most governments and individuals are short of money for investment at present. Therefore, it is very surprising that there is substantial money available from the EU for energy efficiency work, which has not been claimed.

New energy labels — 20 December 2010, 15:02 CET

New energy labels for televisions, refrigerators, dishwashers and washing machines

Preventing abuse in wholesale energy markets - guide — 08 December 2010, 23:48 CET

The European Commission has today proposed rules on wholesale energy markets to prevent market manipulation and insider trading. The Regulation seeks to ensure market transparency by obliging energy traders to respect clear market rules. Wholesale markets, where gas and electricity is traded between companies producing energy and traders, are key to the prices consumers finally pay.

Three new energy research infrastructures get green light — 30 November 2010, 18:20 CET

Three new European energy research infrastructures have been given the go-ahead by European research ministers and the European Commission. The announcement was made at the Infrastructures for Energy Research conference (ENERI 2010) in Brussels, Belgium on 29 and 30 November.

Energy Performance of Buildings — 30 November 2010, 18:07 CET

Directive 2010/31/EU is new legislation from the EU which regulates how energy efficient all new buildings and renovations must be.