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The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs spoke of a “great success” and “ambitious targets” after the energy ministers adopted their positions on the Renewable Energies Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive yesterday. However, the Council’s targets fell short in several respects of what the Commission and Parliament want to achieve in view of the current energy crisis. For example, the ambition for the industrial use of hydrogen was weakened. The usually rather reserved Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson voiced clear criticism. And Sven Giegold (Greens), state secretary in the BMWK, also said, “Things can really only get greener now.” Manuel Berkel has the details.
Tonight, the NATO summit starts in Madrid as the third leg of the summit marathon after the G7 at Schloss Elmau. Against the backdrop of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has announced the biggest “general overhaul of the military alliance” since the end of the Cold War. The number of NRF rapid reaction forces is to be massively increased – from the current 40,000 to 300,000 soldiers. One focus of the summit will be the adoption of a new strategic concept, in which China is to be mentioned for the first time. There is also a need for talks on Turkey’s demands and on increasing the joint budget, as Stephan Israel reports.
Sarah Schaefer
Feature
Renewables & efficiency: ‘It can only get greener’
The general orientations of the energy ministers on Monday were followed by words of praise from Berlin. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs wrote of a “great success” and “ambitious goals”. But it was its State Secretary Sven Giegold (Greens) who struck a different tone in a video message outside the Council building. Speaking about the upcoming trilogue with the Parliament, the former MEP said, “Things can really only get greener now.”
Although the Council advocated higher targets than in the current versions of the Renewables and Energy Efficiency Directives – these fall short in several respects of what the Commission and Parliament want to push through in the current energy crisis.
The efficiency targets remain at the nine percent originally proposed by the Commission in July 2021, but in view of the gas crisis, Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson and the Parliament had recently called for 13 percent. However, the BMWK considers it a success that at least the target for final energy is to be mandatory for the first time. Savings in primary energy, on the other hand, will remain voluntary. This opens up greater scope for energy-intensive hydrogen production or the expansion of coal-fired power generation to counter the gas shortage.
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