Energy end-use efficiency and energy services

The Commission presents an amended proposal and states that it can accept in full all 49 amendments adopted by the European Parliament. They are the result of a compromise package agreed between the European Parliament and the Council for the second reading. The amendments are in line with the objectives of the Commission’s proposal and succeed in introducing mandatory elements that compensate for the lack of a binding energy savings target and a separate target for the public sector. The conclusion of the compromise package has been facilitated by the introduction of national Energy Efficiency Action Plans and related mandatory reporting requirements. Moreover, the introduction of binding requirements for the public sector has made the compromise proposal more acceptable to the Commission.

The amendments to the common position refer mainly to:

- New recitals to clarify certain conditions laid down in the Articles, especially Articles 4, 5 and 6, in which savings targets, public sector obligations and obligations on energy retail and distribution companies, respectively, are established.

- Definitions that increase the scope of the Directive, although only marginally.

- The introduction of an intermediate savings target for the third year of application of the Directive, to be reported in the first national Energy Efficiency Action Plan by 30 June 2007, along with an overview of the Member State strategy on the achievement of the intermediate target and overall savings targets.

- Systematic and rigorous reporting requirements by the Member States and by the Commission, including activity in the public sector.

- The development of the energy efficiency improvement measurement system.

- The introduction of an indicative list of energy conversion markets and sub-markets for which benchmarks can be worked out.

- The inclusion of public sector obligations relating to the energy-efficient purchasing, rental, replacement and retrofitting of buildings.