Energy Union

1. Energy Union
OSNOVNO
The Energy Union means making energy more secure, affordable and sustainable. It will
allow a free flow of energy across borders and a secure supply in every EU country, for every
European. New technologies and renewed infrastructure will cut household bills and create
new jobs and skills, as companies expand exports and boost growth. It will lead to a
sustainable, low carbon and environmentally friendly economy, putting Europe at the
forefront of renewable energy production and the fight against global warming.
Important groundwork has already been done. Europe has a policy framework for energy
and climate for 2030, as well as an energy security strategy. Meanwhile, an integrated
energy market for all EU countries is closer than ever before.
Izvor: http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/energy-union-and-climate_en
European Energy Union was created to reform and reorganise Europes energy policy. This
includes the EU Emissions Trading System which to date has not generated the efficiency
gains, emissions reductions or levels of investment anticipated at its conception. The aim is
to create a new and more effective framework for common EU energy and climate policies.
Energy Union places a renewed emphasis on the Commission and Member States to create
an integrated energy infrastructure across the EU, enabling Member States to reduce their
dependence on imports from countries outside the EU. This goal will be achieved by
concentrating investment and growth in energy efficiency and low carbon energy generation
as well as a more sophisticated and integrated grid infrastructure, whilst retaining open
energy markets with the EU neighbourhood. Strong cooperation is envisaged between
Member States, as well as between different regions across the EU.
The five key objectives of Energy Union include:

A diversified and secure EU energy supply;

A fully integrated internal energy market;

More efficient use of energy;

Decarbonisation of the European economy, primarily achieved through emissions

reductions and ensuring that an efficiently functioning EU ETS exists so as to encourage
investment into low-carbon technologies and energy infrastructure; and,

Coordination of research and supporting the financing of low-carbon innovation projects

alongside the private sector in order to drive competitiveness of European business and
industry.

Osvrt na hrvatsku, uloga LNG terminala

Commission Vice-President efovi used his participation in a conference of Central and
Eastern European Energy Ministers to hold a Dialogue with 150 citizens from Dubrovnik and
other parts of Croatia. He emphasised that the Commission worked for delivering good
results and was committed to talk to citizens.
Energy security, and the impact of energy production and transport were particularly
sensitive issues in a region that is characterised by spectacular nature and by tourism.
Participants, among them the regional MEP, Ms Dubravka uica, particularly asked Minister
Vrodljak about oil drilling platforms and a gas pipeline in the Adriatic Sea. Vice-President
efovi underlined the possibilities of more energy independence and emphasised that
drilling at sea for oil and gas needs to be carried out to the highest environmental

standards. He said that "by 2020 we will have gas from the Southern corridor and with the
LNG terminal at Krk Croatia can become as gas hub for the whole of South-Eastern Europe."
The Citizens Dialogue participants had a clear preference for a balanced approach to
renewable energies: more than two out of three (68%) felt that a combination of wind, solar,
bio mass and other energies would be preferable to a concentration on only one source.
Further themes touched upon in- creasing the energy efficiency of buildings. VP efovi
explained that the EU imported energy for 400 billion /year. 40% of these imports were
used for heating. For this reasons investments in smart buildings paid off and he highlighted
that there is a smart financing instrument for smart buildings.
Although the focus of the discussion was on Energy Union, participants also expressed their
views on whether Croatia has benefitted from EU membership. 53% said yes and 47%
no. Vice-President efovi called upon the citizens to "understand Europe as our common
natural space."
Izvor: http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-dialogues/croatia/dubrovnik/index_en.htm
Ovo dolje moe za kraj
1. Kako EC mjeri napredak.
Many of these objectives will be achieved by fulfilment of the Energy acquis; and the
European Commission is keen to increase the level of scrutiny of Member State and EU
reporting of progress in order to ensure that Energy Union and associated energy and
climate policy making - is more dynamically evaluated. A first State of the Energy Union
report was published in November 2015. It represents the status achieved so far by the EU
and Member State. The report proposed a set of indicators to track Energy Union progress; it
also provided guidance to Member States for streamlining reporting and the elaboration of
their first national energy and climate plan (see Figure X below). The Commission staff
working document on "Monitoring progress towards the Energy Union objectives - Concept
and first analysis of key indicators" (SWD(2015) 243 final) summarises the selected 23 main
indicators which have been initially proposed, together with a scoreboard which includes the
latest available data across Member States. This study seeks to elaborate this list and help
facilitate a more rapid reporting of such indicators.
The complexity of the current system of reporting on progress with the energy acquis and
therefore Energy Union overall creates challenges for Member States. A good illustration of
this was found recently by ICF in its work for DG Energy around Member State compliance
with the requirements of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive because Member
States had adopted very different approaches to fulfilling EC policy at the national level (See
Box 1).

1
Reporting requirements for Energy
Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)
ICF recently completed a study for DG Energy focused on the current national regulatory
frameworks across the EU-28 which concern the energy performance of buildings. The scope of the
study required a detailed analysis of these national frameworks and systems, put in place by
Member States to help deliver and achieve compliance, specifically in relation to requirements of
the EPBD concerning minimum energy performance (MEP) requirements and energy performance
certificates (EPCs). In total, nine compliance rates were investigated by ICF. The study has found
very different levels of reporting across the EU-28 which in part relates to the widespread
differences in data collection and monitoring structures put in place by Member States.
Consequently, not only does the administrative burden vary widely with respect to monitoring and
reporting on these requirements; the quality of data and understanding with respect to on the
ground compliance at Member State level also significantly varies, reducing the ability of the EC to
have the most accurate understanding of how the Directive is achieving its objectives including
around the missed energy savings that arise from non-compliance.

A shift towards a more integrated governance structure for Member States, as foreseen in
need for new national climate and energy plans, is likely to include:

Simplification a reduction in the frequency and/or quantity of reporting

obligations across policy areas, and collectively, which should help to reduce
excessive burdens, overlaps and help to identify obsolete reporting measures.
For example, the ability to reuse datasets to report on different policy themes.
Overall, simplification could well lead to improvements in the quality levels of
reports and data / indicators that Member States are able to submit.
Administrative cost-savings reducing the reporting burden on Member
States and stakeholders who are forced to respond to Member State requests
to supply information should lead to large cost savings which can improve
stretched public sector budgets and help improve competitiveness across the EU
economy. It should also be easier for Member States to plan more effectively
with less frequent reporting which should enable them to focus on a set of core
reporting requirements, investing resource into the most important indicators.
Accountability a more refined and simplified set of reporting and planning
obligations on Member States should help to improve the accountability of
national governance structures.
Transparency it will be much easier for stakeholders to understand the
collective direction of EU energy policies, as translated into national policy
frameworks, and to gain more certainty as to the direction of travel. This has
important implications not only for levels of compliance with EC requirements
and obligations but also for helping to reduce risk associated with investments
into new energy infrastructure through to 2030. Robust datasets and indicators
will go some way towards providing this transparency.
Coordination and integration opportunities to look at new ways of integrating
reporting lines and responsibilities within Member States are likely to arise from
a refreshed approach to governance.
Regional cooperation the opportunity for Member States to undertake joint or
coordinated planning for their National Plans in order to yield cross-regional
savings in energy usage, improved renewable energy planning as well as more
strategic interconnections and energy storage projects. This in turn could have
implications for the way that datasets are gathered and reported on.

1. Current and future planning and reporting frameworks

Source: ICF, 2016