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European Commission puts winter package together

The European Commission has presented a host of energy-policy measures – Germany sees this an important step forward.

There are four directives and four regulations in the ‘winter package’ presented by the European Commission last week. These include the Commission’s proposals for better coordination of Member States’ national energy policies, for a revision of the directives on energy efficiency and on the promotion of renewables, and for electricity-market design. The package is to serve as a framework for EU energy policy up to 2030. Commenting on the winter package, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel said that it “marks an important first step when it comes to overhauling the European framework for energy policy”, but, on some issues, does not represent a major breakthrough.

The draft legislation is now being deliberated by the European Council and the European Parliament. The Federal Government will play an active part in the discussions and press for some aspects of the regulations and directives to be revised. At their meeting of 5 December, the EU energy ministers had some informal talks about this issue.

A brief overview of the draft directives and regulations

What is the European Commission trying to achieve by introducing its winter package?

• Revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive: The European Commission wants to set an ambitious and binding target for better energy efficiency, which would see our energy performance across the EU improve by 30 per cent over a reference scenario that was produced on behalf of the European Commission. It is the Federal Government’s view that the target is reasonable and that the basic approach chosen by the Commission, which is to amend the Energy Efficiency Directive, is good. This particularly applies to the Commission’s plans to “put efficiency first” and to ensure this by creating a clearer framework. In adopting this approach, the Commission is following the lead taken by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and its Green Paper on Energy Efficiency.
• Governance Regulation: Under this proposal for better coherence between national energy policies, Member States are to coordinate on their climate and energy policies. The Federal Government agrees that this is a good step towards the goal of establishing an energy union.
• Electricity market design: One directive and three regulations that are part of the winter package are about the European electricity market. They support Germany in its decision to create an Electricity market 2.0 and set the course for free price formation throughout Europe, which will generate innovation and investment and provide for greater flexibility. Minister Gabriel said: “It is good that we will no longer look at energy security at a national level only, but also beyond our own borders. A common market with good interconnections means that we will need fewer power plants overall, which will translate into lower costs for consumers.” The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy takes a critical stance towards the growing trend towards a centralised European energy policy.
• Revision of the Renewable Energy Directive: It is the Federal Government’s view that the proposal for a pan-European scheme to support the development of renewables represents a missed opportunity in the sense that it does not set out clear requirements on national funding schemes. The government said that there is no framework that would help provide clear incentives for investments in renewables. Minister Gabriel said: “This sort of piecemeal system in which authorisations are granted case-by-case will not put us in pole position in the international race to provide tomorrow’s jobs”.

Minister Gabriel: Energy Union must be debated by the Council and by Parliament

The Federal Government takes a critical view of the fact that key political questions relating to the establishment of the Energy Union are to be dealt with by so-called network codes at technical level, or under competition law. This would put the European Commission in a situation whereby it is able to take key decisions without seeking the consent of Member States or by working with individual Member States case-by-case. Minister Gabriel said: “The Energy Union is a key political project of the EU and as such needs to be openly discussed in the Council and in the European Parliament and decided upon at political level. The process therefore needs some adjustment.”