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In July 2023, the European Commission tabled a package of proposals aimed at greening freight transport. One of these proposals focuses on improving the use of rail infrastructure capacity. The proposed text suggests changes to the rules governing the planning and allocation of railway infrastructure capacity, which are currently outlined in Directive 2012/34/EU and Regulation (EU) No 913/2010. The goal of the changes is to enhance the management of rail infrastructure capacity and traffic so as ...

Dan Jørgensen has most recently served as Danish Minister for Development Cooperation and Minister for Global Climate Policy. His role has been to oversee Denmark's international development initiatives and global climate policies, including co-facilitating COP28 climate negotiations and co-chairing a number of working groups and alliances. Jørgensen is a member of the Social Democratic Party in Denmark, which is affiliated to the S&D group in the European Parliament. He has been a member of the ...

Before being nominated as Commissioner-designate, Stéphane Séjourné had been serving as French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs since January 2024. In July 2024, he was elected to the French Parliament for the ninth constituency of Hauts-de-Seine (Boulogne-Billancourt). He has also been secretary-general of the Renaissance party since 2022. From 2019 to 2024, Séjourné was a Member of the European Parliament, and President of the Renew Europe group (2021-2024). Before that, he was a political ...

On 15 December 2021, the Commission presented a proposal to regulate methane emissions reductions in the energy sector. The proposal was part of the second batch of proposals in the 'fit for 55' package, seeking to align EU climate and energy laws with the EU Climate Law's 2030 target. The proposal addressed gaps in the current legislation: those relating to methane emissions from upstream exploration and the production of oil and fossil gas, but also those from the gathering and processing of fossil ...

EU Member States now have less than 2 years to complete their Next Generation EU (NGEU) investment and reform plans, with implementation advancing at varying rates across the EU. Some countries need to strengthen their administrative capacity to manage the investments. While NGEU offers significant support for the green and digital transitions, the recent Draghi Report on EU competitiveness stresses the need to invest more in strategic Sectors such as energy. As EU businesses face higher energy costs ...

Energy supply security is often defined as the availability of an adequate supply of energy at a reasonable cost. Even a partial supply disruption can have severe consequences, which the European Union has experienced on several occasions. Over the years, energy market developments have affected the EU's economic situation time and again, from the 1970s oil crisis to the 2009 gas crisis and 2022 energy price crisis following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. With the exception of coal, the ...

Energy transition is central to the European Union's ambition to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The EU greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets - 55 % by 2030 and net-zero by 2050 - have accelerated the move away from fossil fuels towards cleaner energy sources and increased energy efficiency. The REPowerEU plan and other EU measures launched in response to the energy crisis meanwhile brought to the fore the importance of ensuring energy security and energy affordability. Existing EU legislation ...

Electrification is the process of replacing technologies and systems that rely on fossil fuels with those powered by electricity, often sourced from renewable energy. Electrification is gaining momentum across many sectors, including transport, buildings and industry, driven by the EU's climate ambition and security of supply. As the cost of renewable energy technologies like solar and wind continues to fall, electrification presents an opportunity to reshape the European economy, enhancing competitiveness ...

The 'fit for 55' package of July and December 2021 was designed to realise the European Climate Law objectives: climate neutrality by 2050 and a 55 % reduction of net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. It consisted of 13 interlinked proposals to revise existing EU climate and energy laws, and six new legislative proposals. All proposals, except the Energy Taxation Directive, have been adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The package seeks to ...

On 14 March 2023, the European Commission proposed a reform of the EU electricity market to reduce price volatility for consumers and incentivise investment in low-carbon energy. The reform included two legislative proposals – on electricity market design (EMD) and on protection against wholesale energy market manipulation (REMIT). One aim was to improve consumer protection by increasing the availability of fixed-price contracts, enhancing supplier obligations and incentivising energy communities ...