9.6.2021

Official Journal of the European Union

C 220/38

(COM(2020) 950 final)

(COM(2020) 564 final)

(2021/C 220/04)

Rapporteur:TBL

Referrals

European Commission, 11.11.2020 and 27.11.2020

Legal basis

Article 304 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

Section responsible

Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society

Adopted in section

9.3.2021

Adopted at plenary

24.3.2021

Plenary session No

559

Outcome of vote

(for/against/abstentions)

236/4/6

1. Conclusions and recommendations

1.9. —

facilitating employment transitions;

—

supporting workers who lose their jobs as a result of decarbonisation (at the very least, a lost job should be compensated for with another, equivalent job);

—

combating energy poverty and offsetting degressive distributional effects; and

—

developing the regional economic potential arising from renewable energy sources and new forms of participation in electricity production.

2. General comments on the Commission document

2.1. —

energy security, including by reducing dependence on energy imports;

—

a fully integrated European energy market;

—

a sustainable, low-carbon and climate-friendly economy;

—

research, innovation and competitiveness to enable Europe to become a global leader in renewable energy;

—

a European labour force with the skills for the energy system of tomorrow;

—

investor confidence through price signals that reflect long- term needs and policy objectives.

2.4. —

Decarbonisation (including development of renewable energy)

—

Energy efficiency, with particular attention to the ‘Energy Efficiency First’ principle

—

Energy security (including cutting EU energy imports, increased flexibility and greater resilience of national energy systems)

—

Internal energy markets

—

Research & innovation and competitiveness

It also addresses the topic of ‘The Energy Union in a broader Green Deal perspective’.

2.13. 3. The EESC’s general comments

3.5. Failure to implement the ‘Energy Union with citizens at its core’ goal

3.9. Failure to implement the ‘security of supply/reduction of energy imports’ goal

3.11. Failure to implement the ‘innovation, global leadership’ goal

3.19. 4. Specific comments

The ‘Decarbonisation’ chapter of the State of the Energy Union report

4.1. The ‘Energy security’ chapter of the State of the Energy Union report

4.4. The ‘Internal energy markets’ chapter in the State of the Energy Union report and the progress report on the internal energy market

4.14. The ‘Research & innovation and competitiveness’ chapter in the State of the Energy Union report

4.15. The ‘Energy Union in a broader Green Deal perspective’ chapter in the State of the Energy Union report

4.16. The Communication on the assessment of NECPs

4.21. Brussels, 24 March 2021.

Christa SCHWENG

(1) COM(2015) 80 final.

(2) OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 1.

(3) COM(2020) 950 final, Annex 2.

(4) Which is surprising, given that there has been talk for more than thirty years about the need to phase out environmentally harmful subsidies in the EU.

(5) And the German Council presidency.

(6) OJ L 158, 14.6.2019, p. 125.

(7) OJ C 47, 11.2.2020, p. 30, OJ C 62, 15.2.2019, p. 269.

(8) OJ C 429, 11.12.2020, p. 85.

(9) COM(2015) 80 final, p. 13.

(10) OJ C 429, 11.12.2020, p. 85.

(11) See Hirschl, B., Aretz, A., Bost, M., Tapia, M., and Gößling-Reisemann, S. (2018): Vulnerabilität und Resilienz des digitalen Stromsystems. Schlussbericht. Berlin, Bremen, available for download at: www.strom-resilienz.de

(12) OJ C 123, 9.4.2021, p. 30.

(13) OJ C 123, 9.4.2021, p. 22.

(14) OJ C 82, 3.3.2016, p. 13.

(15) OJ C 364, 28.10.2020, p. 158.

(16) OJ C 288, 31.8.2017, p. 91.

(17) OJ L 283, 31.10.2003, p. 51.

(18) OJ C 81, 2.3.2018, p. 44.