The energy efficiency directive (EED) was originally adopted in 2012 to help the Member States make energy efficiency improvements of at least 20 % by 2020. The EED places an upper limit  on total EU energy consumption and includes provisions to help Member States collectively meet this goal. The EED was revised in 2018 to deliver on the EU objective of at least 32.5 % energy efficiency improvements by 2030, with each Member State required to deliver higher annual energy savings obligations.

The 'fit for 55' legislative package - part of the European Green Deal - adopted by the Commission on 14 July 2021 includes a substantial revision ('recast') of the EED. The Commission's proposal was accompanied by an impact assessment containing the results of a public consultation held between November 2020 and February 2021.

The Commission's proposal for a recast EED included higher targets for reducing EU primary (-39 %) and final (-36 %) energy consumption by 2030, setting an upper limit of 1023 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in primary energy consumption and 787 Mtoe in final energy consumption (compared to 1128 and 846 Mtoe, respectively, under the 2018 EED). These new targets would become binding at EU level and be reinforced by a benchmarking system for Member States to set their national indicative contributions to this EU target.

The Parliament referred the file to the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), which appointed Niels Fuglsang (S&D, Denmark) as its rapporteur. The ITRE committee agreed a final report on 13 July 2022, endorsed in the September 2022 plenary session together with a mandate to enter into interinstitutional 'trilogue' negotiations.  

The ITRE report set more ambitious targets than the Commission's original proposal (July 2021), equivalent to a 40 % reduction in final energy consumption (upper limit of 740 Mtoe) and a 42.5 % reduction in primary energy consumption (upper limit of 960 Mtoe). This is slightly more ambitious than the revised targets proposed by the Commission as part of its Repower EU plan (May 2022). According to the ITRE report, Member States would need to deliver binding national contributions based on both indicators of energy consumption, and would need to meet milestones in 2025 and 2027 to ensure they are on track. The ITRE report contains more ambitious targets for the public sector, covering buildings owned and rented by public bodies. It proposed annual ESOs of 2 % final energy consumption between 2024 and 2030, a third higher than the Commission’s proposal (1.5 %). It also provided considerably more detail on implementing the ‘energy efficiency first’ principle, addressing energy poverty, monitoring energy use of data centres, establishing ‘one stop shops’ on energy efficiency, and developing energy partnerships.

The Council of the EU agreed a general approach on 27 June 2022. The general approach supported the energy efficiency targets set out in the Commission's original proposal (July 2021), namely, upper limits on final and primary energy consumption of 787 Mtoe and 1023 Mtoe respectively. However, national contributions would remain indicative (non-binding) and based exclusively on final (not primary) energy consumption. Targets for renovating public buildings would only become binding after four years and be limited to buildings owned by public bodies. The increase in annual ESOs would be more gradual than in the Commission proposal, rising in steps from 1.1 % (2024-2025) to 1.5 % (2028-2030), and allowing greater flexibility in accounting between years.

The EP and Council negotiators reached a provisional agreement on 10 March 2023. It set a reduction of primary and final energy consumption of 11.7% at EU level by 2030. This translated into a limit to the EU's final energy consumption of 763 Mtoe and of 992 Mtoe for primary consumption. The limit for final energy consumption is binding for Member States collectively, while the primary energy consumption target is only indicative.

According to the agreement, annual energy savings by the Member States will reach 1.5 % on average by 2030. They will begin with a 1.3 % decrease in the period leading up to the end of 2025, then 1.5 % by the end of 2027, moving towards 1.9 % by the end of 2030. To fulfill this target, Member States may include in the calculation the energy savings realised under the current and revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, measures resulting from the EU ETS (for installations and for buildings and transport) and emergency energy measures.

The public sector will have to reduce its final energy consumption by 1.9 % each year, with the possibility to exclude public transport and armed forces. Member States should also ensure that at least 3 % of buildings owned by public administrations are renovated each year into near-zero energy buildings or zero-emission buildings. The new EED provides a revised definition for efficient district heating systems and sets new requirements aiming at a fully decarbonised supply for these systems by 2050.

The agreed version of EED includes the EU definition of energy poverty. The agreed provisions aim at reducing energy poverty and empowering consumers through, among other things, the creation of one-stop-shops. The changed directive tasks the Commission with assessing whether existing energy partnerships sufficiently address energy efficiency, and proposing, if needed, the establishment of sector-specific energy efficiency partnerships, as proposed by the European Parliament.

The Parliament adopted the revised directive on 11 July 2023 and the Council on 25 July 2023. The final act was signed on 13 September 2023 and on 20 September 2023 it was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. On 10 October 2023 the revised directive entered into force. 

References

• EP Legislative Observatory, Procedure file on Energy Efficiency Directive. Recast. 'Fit for 55 package', 2021/0203(COD)  
• Directive 2023/1791 on energy efficiency (recast)
• European Commission, Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on energy efficiency (recast), COM(2021)558
• European Parliament, Amendments adopted by the European Parliament on 14 September 2022 on the proposal for the Energy Efficiency Directive, 2021/0203(COD)
• Council of the EU, General Approach on the Energy Efficiency Directive, 10697/22
• European Parliament, Parliament and Council negotiators agree on new rules to boost energy savings, press release, 10 March 2023
• Directive (EU) 2023/1791 on energy efficiency and amending Regulation (EU) 2023/955 (recast), 13 September 2023
• Directive 2012/27/EU of on energy efficiency of 25 October 2012

Further Reading

• European Parliament, EPRS, Revising the Energy Directive: Fit for 55 package, Briefing, EU Legislation in Progress, November 2023
• European Parliament, EPRS, Energy Efficiency Directive, Briefing, Implementation Appraisal, March 2021
• European Parliament, EPRS, Fit for 55: Recasting the Energy Efficiency Directive, Briefing, Initial Appraisal of the Commission's Impact Assessment, December 2021

Author: Monika Dulian, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu

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