Spain, France, Italy and Portugal request more flexibility from the European Commission to facilitate investment in energy efficiency

The ministers signing the letter (Álvaro Nadal, Ségolène Royal, Carlo Calenda and Manuel Caldeira) consider that energy efficiency plays a vital role in reducing energy consumption and in guaranteeing a secure supply. It also increases competitiveness and has a major impact on the real economy and job creation, given that it involves investments with a high knock-on effect on other economic sectors. In their opinion, the development of energy efficiency currently falls way short of what is desirable.

For energy efficiency to realise its full potential, all obstacles to investment must be removed as they currently act as a hindrance, particularly to long-term investments.

Along these lines, the ministers consider that European accounting rules used to calculate the public deficit and debt of public sector efficiency contracts should be revised. In accordance with current accounting rules, public authorities may not make these investments, despite being amortised in the very short term and despite being required by EU legislation, because they generate a deficit that is prohibited by law.

The ministers also consider that the European proposal for the Efficient Energy Directive as part of the Clean Energy Package must look beyond investments with short-term effects and stimulate those that generate long-term savings, such as investments in building refurbishments and in energy efficiency in the industrial sector, where there is significant untapped potential.

Similarly, the ministers believe it is essential to be able to count on financial support from European institutions, such as the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF).

The letter requests three specific points:

1. That the presidency of the Energy Council promotes a specific debate on the existing obstacles to investments in energy efficiency.
2. To request the Energy Council to call on the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) to swiftly promote a solution to the national accounting rules on public sector energy efficiency contracts, and for experts from the European Commission and Member States to take part in these tasks.
3. To support a more ambitious approach in the Energy Efficiency Directive, together with the elimination of as many obstacles as possible to effective investments and request that the European Commission guarantees that the Directive proposal fosters long-term investments.

The request for the proposal for the Energy Efficiency Directive, currently at the negotiation stage, to promote long-term investments, was also included in another letter which Minister Nadal recently sent to the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, and to the European Commissioner for Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete.