Energy Community and National Energy and Climate Plans

In 2019 the EU completed a comprehensive update of its energy policy framework to facilitate the transition away from fossil fuels towards cleaner energy and to deliver on the EU’s Paris Agreement commitments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

• The agreement on this new energy rulebook, the Clean energy for all Europeans package, marks a significant step towards the implementation of the Energy Union Strategy (COM/2015/080), published in February 2015.
• In November 2016, the European Commission published its proposals (COM/2016/0860) - a package consisting of eight legislative acts.
• Following the agreement by the Council and the European Parliament in May 2019, EU Member States were given two years to transpose the new directives and regulations into their national law.

The new rules will bring considerable benefits from a consumer, environmental, and from an economic perspective. The legislation also underlines EU leadership in tackling global warming and provides an important contribution to the EU’s long-term strategy of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

With the Clean Energy Package, the Commission addresses all the five dimensions of the Energy Union:

 
European Energy Policy consists of the following elements:

The five elements the European Energy Policy
Energy efficiency first:		The revamped Directive on energy efficiency sets a new, higher target of energy use for 2030 of 32.5%, and the new Energy performance of buildings Directive maximizes the energy saving potential of smarter and greener buildings. Buildings Directive factsheet  Revised Energy Efficiency factsheet
More renewables:		An ambitious new target of at least 32% in renewable energy by 2030 has been fixed, with specific provisions to foster public and private investment, in order for the EU to maintain its global leadership on renewables Renewable Directive factsheet
A better governance of the Energy Union:		A new energy rulebook under which each Member State drafts National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) for 2021-2030 setting out how to achieve their energy union targets, and in particular the 2030 targets on energy efficiency and renewable energy.  Governance Regulation factsheet
More rights for consumers:		The new rules make it easier for individuals to produce, store or sell their own energy, and strengthen consumer rights with more transparency on bills, and greater choice flexibility
A smarter and more efficient electricity market:		The new laws will increase security of supply by helping integrate renewables into the grid and manage risks, and by improving cross-border cooperation. Electricity market rules factsheet

Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action entered into force in December 2018. 

Building on the importance of meeting the international energy and climate targets, the regulation lays down how countries and the Commission should work together, and how individual countries should cooperate, to achieve the energy union's goals. It acknowledges that Member States' contribution to the energy union may differ.

The goals of the regulation are:

• to implement policies and measures which ensure that the objectives of the energy union, in particular the EU’s 2030 energy and climate targets, and the long-term EU green house gas (GHG) commitments are consistent with the Paris agreement;
• To stimulate cooperation between countries in order to achieve the objectives and targets of the energy union;
• to promote long-term certainty and predictability for investors across the EU and foster jobs, growth and social cohesion;
• to reduce administrative burdens, in line with the principle of better regulation. This was done by integrating and streamlining most of the current energy and climate planning and reporting requirements of EU countries, as well as the Commission's monitoring obligations;
• to ensure consistent reporting by the EU and its Member States under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris agreement, replacing the existing monitoring and reporting system from 2021 onwards.

The package includes a robust governance system for the energy union, under which each Member State is required to establish integrated 10-year National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) for 2021 to 2030. Based on a common structure, the NECPs outline how the Member States will achieve their respective targets on all dimensions of the energy union, including a longer-term view towards 2050. 

This approach requires a coordination of purpose across all government departments. It also provides a level of planning that will ease public and private investment. The fact that all countries are using a similar template means that they can work together to make efficiency gains across borders.