The von der Leyen Commission: for a Union that strives for more

Yesterday, President-elect Ursula von der Leyen presented her team and the new structure of the next European Commission.

EU Commission Action Call

The European Commission calls on its Member States to strengthen their ambitions in the plans to implement the Paris Climate Agreement.

European Commission Approves Support for Renewables Production in Lithuania

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a scheme to support electricity production from renewable energy sources in Lithuania.

The European Commission has found four French projects promoting electricity generation from renewable wind energy sources to be in line with EU State aid rules.

The Commission calls for a climate neutral Europe by 2050

The European Commission adopted a strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy by 2050 – A Clean Planet for all.

New rules on renewables, energy efficiency and the governance of the Energy Union have been signed off by the European Parliament today – an important step in enabling the European Union and its Member States to embrace the clean energy transition, follow up on the already adopted 2030 climate legislation and meet the Paris Agreement commitments.

The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules three schemes to support electricity production from wind and solar in Denmark in 2018 and 2019.

The 20th Summit between the European Union and the People's Republic of China held in Beijing on Monday has underlined that this partnership has reached a new level of importance for our own citizens, for our respective neighbouring regions and for the international community more broadly.

An ambitious political agreement on increasing renewable energy use in Europe was reached today between negotiators from the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council.

Air quality: Commission takes action to protect citizens from air pollution

The Commission is standing up for Europeans' need to breathe clean air.

The European Commission has found German plans to grant reductions on an offshore surcharge to electro-intensive users and railways to be in line with EU State aid rules. The measure will contribute to the competitiveness of these companies without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market.

The European Commission has concluded the certificates schemes for renewable electricity and high-efficiency cogeneration implemented in Flanders (Belgium) to be in line with EU State aid rules. The two schemes contribute to reaching EU energy and climate goals whilst preserving competition.

Share of renewables in energy consumption in the EU reached 17% in 2016

Eleven Member States already achieved their 2020 targets

The European Commission has found a Greek auction scheme for the production of electricity from renewable sources and high efficiency cogeneration to be in line with EU State aid rules. The scheme will further EU energy and climate goals whilst preserving competition.

The European Commission has approved three schemes to support electricity production from small-scale onshore wind, solar and sewage gas installations in France under EU state aid rules. The schemes will allow France to develop more than 17 additional gigawatts in renewable energy.

The European Commission has found support to be granted to the 600 MW Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm in Danish territorial waters to be in line with EU state aid rules. It will help Denmark to reduce CO2 emissions, in line with EU energy and climate goals, without unduly distorting competition.

The European Commission has approved unconditionally under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of LM Wind Power of Denmark, by General Electric Company of the US. The Commission concluded that the merged entity would continue to face effective competition in Europe.

The European Commission has cleared unconditionally under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa by Siemens. The Commission found that the transaction raises no competition concerns, because a number of credible competitors would remain in the market.

The European Commission has concluded that Belgian plans to finance electricity generation from offshore renewable energy are in line with EU state aid rules. The measure will further EU energy and climate goals whilst maintaining competition in the Single Market.

The European Commission has approved a support scheme for installations producing renewable energy built in the Czech Republic between 2006 and 2012 under EU state aid rules. The Commission concluded the measure would further EU energy and climate goals without unduly distorting competition.

The European Commission has found the new Greek support scheme for renewable electricity and high efficiency cogeneration to be in line with EU state aid rules. The scheme will help Greece to reduce CO2 emissions, in line with EU energy and climate goals, without unduly distorting competition.

The EU-funded TOWERPOWER project is developing reliable new techniques to continuously monitor the structural condition of offshore wind turbines. Optimising maintenance and inspections is a key way to help the sector achieve cost efficiencies.

Paris Agreement to enter into force as EU agrees ratification

The European Parliament has approved the ratification of the Paris Agreement by the European Union today.

A steady decline in energy consumption in the period from 2000 to 2014 has lowered EU final energy consumption from 1133 Mtoe in 2000 to 1061 Mtoe in 2014, according to a JRC report. This puts the consumption below the indicative targets for 2020, set to 1,086 Mtoe by the European Energy Efficiency Directive. The saving achieved is equivalent to the whole energy consumption of Finland in 2014.

North Seas region countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden) have agreed to further strengthen their energy cooperation.

Increased use of renewables results in growing GHG emission savings in the EU

Nearly two thirds of the total savings came thanks to renewable energy development in Germany, Sweden, France, Italy and Spain.

Europe: EU invests €150 million in energy infrastructure

The bulk of the support will go to projects in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe as well as to projects in the Baltic region.

The Commission launched a call for proposals under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to help finance key trans-European energy infrastructure projects yesterday.