The Council adopted today a revised Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) Regulation. The new rules aim to modernise, decarbonise and interconnect member states’ cross-border energy infrastructures in order to help the EU achieve its 2050 climate neutrality objectives. The revised regulation also aims to continue ensuring market integration, competitiveness and security of supply. The adoption […]
Key energy saving actions
The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the European Commission outlined on 21 April 2022 a range of simple steps that citizens can take to reduce their energy use and save money, and that would save enough oil to fill 120 super tankers and enough natural gas to heat almost 20 million homes if adopted by […]
Energy Council: securing energy supply for all member states
Ministers exchanged views on the energy situation in the EU in the context of the war in Ukraine. This extraordinary Council was an opportunity for the ministers to recall their solidarity with Ukraine and with the member states affected by the suspension of gas deliveries by Gazprom, which was implemented despite the current contracts. Energy […]
EIC Accelerator Challenge: Technologies for ‘Fit for 55’
Scope This EIC Accelerator Challenge aims at supporting the development and scaling up of technologies and boosting breakthrough innovations that strengthen the green transition. Breakthrough innovations for this Challenge should have the potential to create significant economic, competitiveness and employment benefits for Europe. This Challenge targets ground-breaking innovations in any field of technology that have […]
EU’s need for natural gas imports reduced to 83% by 2021
In 2021, the EU’s natural gas import dependency rate was 83%. This is 1 percentage point (pp) less than 2020 (84%). This small decrease in import dependency was significantly influenced by the fact that most EU Member States used stocks of natural gas that were imported in previous years. In fact, the drop in natural gas stocks in 2021 was […]
EU will import 58% of its energy by 2020
By 2020, 58% of the energy consumed in the EU will be imported, while its own production will cover only 42% of demand. The EU’s energy mix by 2020 will consist of 35% oil and oil derivatives, 24% natural gas, 17% renewables, 13% nuclear energy and 11% solid fossil fuels. Russia is the main supplier […]
EU rejects Putin’s request to pay for gas supplies from Russia in rubles
The Energy Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and the European Union Commissioner for Energy met on Monday in a brief videoconference. As a result, they rejected Putin’s demand that gas deliveries must be paid in rubles, and reaffirmed that agreed contracts for gas deliveries […]
Options to mitigate high energy prices
Following up rapidly on the REPowerEU Communication and the Versailles Declaration, the Commission has set out ideas last 23rd March, for collective European action to address the root causes of the problem in the gas market and ensure security of supply at reasonable prices for next winter and beyond. Leaders will continue the discussion on […]
Commission aid to Spain for energy consumption
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a Spanish scheme to partially compensate energy-intensive companies for higher electricity prices resulting from indirect emission costs under the EU Emission Trading System (‘ETS’). Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “This €2.9 billion scheme enables Spain to reduce the risk of energy-intensive […]