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Parliamentary question - E-006892/2015Parliamentary question
E-006892/2015

Covenant of Mayors for Sustainable Energy

Question for written answer E-006892-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Ramon Tremosa i Balcells (ALDE)

In 2008, the Commission launched the Covenant of Mayors for Sustainable Energy initiative, aiming to involve the municipalities in combating climate change. This initiative is set up as an agreement between the signatory municipalities and the Directorate-General for Energy. To achieve its goals, the municipalities must draw up a sustainable energy action plan (SEAP), which must be approved by the Commission and reviewed twice a year.

Funding will be taken from cohesion policy funds, above all the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The plan is for part of the ERDF to be allocated to combating climate change, but no conditionality has been applied to make the Member States and regional governments prioritise in some way the municipalities that have signed the Covenant of Mayors. The result is that many of them are not taking account of it as an element to be prioritised.

Is the Commission considering doing something to remedy this situation?

The municipalities are playing their part in the agreement: of the 6 290 signatory municipalities, 4 576 have submitted their SEAPs and none of the others are late with theirs. The body to which the Commission delegated the process — the Joint Research Centre (JRC) — is at a standstill. There are 1 627 SEAPs awaiting evaluation, or 35.5% of the total.

What measures is the Commission planning to take to support the work of the JRC?