Today’s deal means that five out of the eight legislative proposals of the 2016 Clean Energy for All Europeans package have been politically agreed by the co-legislators, after the agreements in the first half of 2018 on the Governance proposal, the revised Energy Efficiency Directive, the revised Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive. It is clear progress and momentum towards completing the Energy Union and combatting climate change are well under way. The Juncker Commission, working under its political priority “a resilient Energy Union and a forward-looking climate change policy“, is delivering.

Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete said: “Today’s deal is another major delivery in our transition to a clean and secure energy system Today’s electricity markets are increasingly interlinked.

With today’s deal, Europeans will be better protected against black-outs. It will ensure that all Member States put in place appropriate tools to prevent, prepare for and manage crisis situations in the supply of electricity. Even when markets and systems function well, the risk of an emergency due to unforeseen circumstances cannot be excluded. Such situations can be managed more effectively through cross border co-ordination in a spirit of solidarity among neighbours.”

The new Regulation will provide new common methods for the identification of possible electricity crisis scenarios at national and regional levels; ensure maximum preparedness against electricity crises and effective management thereof through the preparation and publication of risk-preparedness plans by Member States developed on the basis of the electricity crisis scenarios identified; help national authorities prevent and manage crisis situations in cooperation with each other in a spirit of solidarity; set up a new framework for a more systematic monitoring of security of supply issues via the Electricity Coordination Group; and ensure that markets can work as long as possible.

Following this political agreement, the text of the Regulation will have to be formally approved by the European Parliament and the Council. Once endorsed by both co-legislators in the coming months, the Regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the Union and will immediately enter into force.

Background

The regulation on Risk Preparedness of the electricity sector is part and parcel of the implementation of the Juncker Commission priorities to build “a resilient Energy Union and a forward-looking climate change policy”. The Commission wants the EU to lead the clean energy transition. For this reason the EU has committed to cut CO2 emissions while modernising the EU’s economy and delivering on jobs and growth for all European citizens. In doing so, the Commission is guided by three main goals: putting energy efficiency first, achieving global leadership in renewable energies and providing a fair deal for consumers. All this must be done whilst guaranteeing the security of energy supply of the EU and the resilience and stability of the system against potential threats and crises.

The proposed Regulation focuses on how to secure the resilience of the electricity system as a whole and how to manage electricity crises when they occur, by ensuring that all Member States put in place the appropriate tools to prevent, prepare for and manage these situations. This is necessary given that even where markets and systems function well, the risk of an electricity crisis as a result of a variety of circumstances (e.g. extreme weather circumstances, malicious attacks including cyber-attacks, a fuel shortage) cannot be excluded. In addition, given that electricity systems are integrated, where crisis situations do occur, they often have a cross-border effect. Some circumstances (e.g., a prolonged cold spell or heat wave) might affect several Member States simultaneously and incidents that start locally may rapidly spread. Currently, Member States behave very differently when it comes to preventing and managing crises. National rules and practices tend to focus on the national context only, disregarding cross-border effects. In addition, there is limited sharing of information amongst Member States.

The new rules will provide common methods for assessing risks, will bring more comparability and transparency to the preparation phase and during an electricity crisis, and will ensure that even in a crisis, electricity is delivered where it is needed most. A new framework for a more systematic monitoring of security of supply issues will be set up via the Electricity Coordination Group. The proposal contributes to the revised Third Package by ensuring that, even in crisis situations, priority is given to market-based measures and that markets can work as long as possible.

The Regulation complements and updates the existing network codes and guidelines thatset out harmonised principles for the operational planning and scheduling processes required to anticipate real time operational security difficulties. This will help national authorities prevent and manage crisis situations in cooperation with each other, while avoiding undue interference on the market and on the tasks of the Transmission System Operators (TSOs).

More information

Energy Union

Proposal on risk preparedness

Déclaration de la Haute Représentante Federica Mogherini, au nom de l’Union Européenne, sur la RDC

1. L’Union européenne est un partenaire de longue date de la République Démocratique du Congo et de sa population et prête une attention constante à l’évolution politique, sécuritaire et humanitaire du pays.

2. Les élections prévues le 23 décembre 2018 constituent une opportunité historique pour la République Démocratique du Congo d’opérer le premier transfert démocratique et pacifique du pouvoir. L’Union européenne réitère son soutien à l’organisation d’un scrutin qui doit se tenir de manière inclusive, transparente, crédible et pacifique, dans le plein respect des droits de l’Homme et des libertés fondamentales. L’Accord de la Saint Sylvestre et la résolution 2409 du Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies indiquent clairement à tous les acteurs politiques et aux autres parties prenantes les conditions à respecter pour une sortie de crise durable, la tenue d’élections crédibles et un transfert de pouvoir apaisé. L’Union européenne encourage toutes les parties concernées à les mettre en œuvre.

3. Le Gouvernement et la CENI ont une responsabilité majeure pour l’avenir du pays. Ils doivent œuvrer à la bonne tenue des élections en respectant la date prévue et les standards de transparence et d’efficacité nécessaires. L’observation électorale indépendante, par des organisations régionales et par les acteurs de la société civile, joue un rôle clef. La participation réelle des femmes dans toutes les étapes du processus électoral doit être assurée.

L’UE encourage aussi le Gouvernement à consolider la confiance des électeurs et la crédibilité du processus et à associer de manière transparente toutes les parties prenantes à l’ensemble du processus, ainsi qu’à garantir la liberté de l’espace politique. L’UE appelle l’ensemble des parties prenantes à s’abstenir de toute incitation à la violence, à respecter le code de conduite et les obligations en vigueur, et à régler de manière pacifique leurs différends. La liberté de la presse et de manifestation pacifique et l’accès équitable aux médias – dans le respect des obligations internationales de la RDC – constitueront également des éléments essentiels pour la crédibilité du processus.

4. La situation à l’est du pays nécessite davantage d’engagement de la part des autorités congolaises, aussi en vue de pouvoir y organiser le scrutin dans les meilleures conditions.

5. L’Union européenne suivra attentivement le déroulement des élections en RDC. La tenue d’élections inclusives, transparentes, crédibles et pacifiques sera importante pour son engagement futur en RDC avec les autorités démocratiquement élues pour le développement du pays dans l’intérêt de la population congolaise.

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Welcome to today’s press conference. We have three communications, which all are interlinked: one on the Investment Plan for Europe or Juncker Plan if you want, one on the Single Market and finally one on European harmonised standards. They all have an impact to our economic growth and to the modernisation of the EU economy. But before going to the substance, let me say a few words about the context. in six months European citizens will have the opportunity to elect the next European Parliament.

My message to them today is: have your say on what kind of Europe you want – but don’t take Europe for granted.

Don’t take it for granted that you have the freedom to live or work in another European country, like 17 million Europeans already do.

That the cost of phone calls has fallen by two thirds and you can roam for free.

That you have more control over your personal data than ever.

That we have the strictest rules on food, health and toy safety, for instance.

That you can claim compensation if your flight is delayed.

That you can cancel or return online purchases within 14 days.

That the Investment Plan for Europe has supported more than 750,000 jobs.

So, don’t take any of this for granted. All of this has been done because we have wanted to deepen our probably the most precious asset: the Single Market. And we have worked together in order to boost investment. There are also forces who are either intentionally or unintendedly erecting barriers to our internal trade. That’s why all those issues cannot be taken for granted. Single Market is not an asset which you can fully complete. The market and technologies are changing all the time. Think of, for instance, artificial intelligence or the circular economy. Both are the drivers of economic growth in the coming years. They are the megatrends in the world economy and it means that we have to reshape our Single Market to enable frictionless market within the EU and promote growth. Single Market is also the reason why EU is so attractive for foreign direct investments. It means more jobs, more competition and more productivity in our economy. Productivity is the best friend of welfare society. Single Market is also the reason why we have managed to get good trade agreements with third countries. Many countries are willing to have an agreement with us because it allows them to get an access to the EU Single Market. The Single Market is also the way to set global standards, for instance on product safety, energy efficiency or, for instance, GDPR is a good example. And in the future we could have global standards on the quality of plastics. So are we the ones that set the standards or are we the ones who adapt to the standards which the others have set? That’s why Single Market is a much wider concept than someone might think. Technology is changing, people’s demands are changing and market is changing. This is not just a message to citizens and businesses. It’s also a message to our Member States and the European Council, which we expect to devote due attention to this matter. Because there is now a real urgency to act if you want to maintain growth and competitiveness in Europe. This matter deserves due attention at all levels. Elzbieta will present the Single Market communication and the harmonised standards communication in a little while. But let me say also a couple of words on the Investment Plan communication. I must say that Investment Plan for Europe has been a success story. It has brought investment back to sustainable level in Europe. Four years on, we can clearly say that that it was exactly the right thing to do. It has been a game-changer, in the way we used public money to crowd in private investment into projects that modernise our economy and help start-ups to strive.

The EFSI, the financial leg of Investment Plan, has covered roughly speaking one third of the investment gap we had when we started this programme. I give you a couple of figures on the EFSI. EFSI has already mobilised €360 billion worth of investments, two-thirds of which come from private resources. So it shows that it functions exactly as we wanted it to function. By using public guarantees, we could crowd-in private liquidity which was resting in the bank accounts.

Now they are in productive work. 850,000 small and medium sized businesses are set to benefit from improved access to finance. Estimates show, that already now EFSI supported some 750,000 jobs, while 1.4 million jobs will be created by 2020. The EFSI has already now increased EU GDP by 0.6%. By 2020 we expect the increase to be 1.3%. The biggest users of EFSI when looking at EFSI investment per countries’ GDP are Greece number one, Estonia second, Portugal third, Spain fourth, fifth is Lithuania, sixth: Latvia, seventh: Bulgaria, Poland is eighth, Finland ninth and Italy tenth. 33% of EFSI financing has gone to small and medium enterprises, 21% to research and development and innovation, 19% to energy and 11% to digital.

But EFSI is only the financial leg of the Investment Plan. The entire Investment Plan consists of three areas: EFSI, but then also the advisory hub and the project portal and finally structural reforms both at national and European levels. European structural reforms mean for instance: Capital Markets Union initiatives, Energy Single Market initiatives, everything related to the Single Market strategy. I also must mention the circular economy proposals which are modern examples of deepening the Single Market. And I must also say that since we started the focus on national reforms, many of our Member States have done significant reforms to cut red tape and make the business environment more favourable for growth and investment. So, I will stop here and pass on the floor to Elzbieta who will give you further information as to other proposals.

In March the European Council asked us to present the state of play of the Single Market along with an assessment of remaining barriers and opportunities for the future. When leaders discuss the future of the single market at the European Council in mid-December, I hope that they will renew their commitments to the single market – not only in words, but also in deeds.

We need to look into the future. With this communication we are offering some avenues for the future.

It is important to underline that in our studies we have documented that – at the moment – economic growth in the world, unfortunately, takes mainly place outside the EU. Our competitors are continent-sized economies.

The Single Market needs everybody in the EU to play by the commonly agreed rules. And just as we are resisting protectionism outside the EU, we should also resist the fragmentation inside the EU. Member States need to be vigilant in implementing and applying EU rules and refrain from creating new barriers in areas such as cross-border service provision, especially in such areas as cross border service provision.

In particular, I am convinced that we should shift the narrative from traditional “completing the Single Market” to a new narrative of the Single Market as a delivery tool for welfare to the citizens, industrial competitiveness, our standing and influence in the world. The traditional narrative of “completing the Single Market” means only ticking the boxes. And this is not the right approach now.

Lack of progress on notification procedure, car emissions, food labelling, and many others have been conducted and driven by such an approach – by ticking the boxes, by only “completing the single market”. Member States do like very much to concentrate on what they feel is good for them and to avoid what is more problematic. This is my experience of dealing with more than 1000 infringements today.

The message that the Single Market is good for the economy, for business, for workers, for consumer has to come out more clearly. We have to be more precise on the issue of servitisation and the role of services for the competitiveness of our industries is fully developed in the draft.  

Similarly, how the Single Market supports our trade agenda and how we need to be much more consistent and ambitious on enforcement – are issues which together with our competition rules will be key for our future policies in that area.

Therefore, we also call on Member States, with the European Parliament, to urgently adopt the key proposals on the table before the end of this legislature. Since the beginning of the mandate we have presented 67 proposals directly relevant for the proper functioning of the Single Market. 44 of them remain to be agreed. This needs to change.

You see, on the level of declarations: everybody loves the Single Market. But when it comes down to actual proposals, such as the ones this Commission has put forward in the area of services, it’s a different story.

Let me add a quick word about the action plan on standardisation that we have also adopted today. Standards like the A4 paper size or airbags, or in the future 5G technology, are sometimes seen as a technical issue. But they have an important economic impact and benefit companies and consumers in the Single Market every day. That is why today we commit to doing our part for the standardisation system to be more efficient and transparent. 

 So in nutshell, our message today is that the EU needs to show leadership and political courage to take the Single Market to a new level. A fully functioning Single Market, together with a properly functioning standardisation system, will make the Union even more attractive to international trading partners and provide it with additional leverage on the international stage.