{"id":17522,"date":"2022-09-15T19:50:18","date_gmt":"2022-09-15T19:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legalblog.ie\/?p=17522"},"modified":"2022-09-24T21:56:17","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T21:56:17","slug":"energy-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/energy-union\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy Union [EU]"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/energy-union\/#Governance_of_the_energy_union\" title=\"Governance of the energy union\">Governance of the energy union<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/energy-union\/#Key_Points\" title=\"Key Points\">Key Points<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/energy-union\/#Amending_legislation\" title=\"Amending legislation\">Amending legislation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/energy-union\/#Application_Background\" title=\"Application &amp; Background\">Application &amp; Background<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/energy-union\/#MAIN_DOCUMENT\" title=\"MAIN DOCUMENT\">MAIN DOCUMENT<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/energy-union\/#Information_exchange_mechanism_in_the_field_of_energy\" title=\"Information exchange mechanism in the field of energy\">Information exchange mechanism in the field of energy<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/energy-union\/#Oil_and_gas\" title=\"Oil and gas\">Oil and gas<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/energy-union\/#Electricity\" title=\"Electricity\">Electricity<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/energy-union\/#Time_periods\" title=\"Time periods\">Time periods<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/energy-union\/#Existing_agreements\" title=\"Existing agreements\">Existing agreements<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/energy-union\/#Information_sharing\" title=\"Information sharing\">Information sharing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/energy-union\/#Application_Background-2\" title=\"Application &amp; Background\">Application &amp; Background<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/energy-union\/#MAIN_DOCUMENT-2\" title=\"MAIN DOCUMENT\">MAIN DOCUMENT<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Governance_of_the_energy_union\"><\/span>Governance of the energy union<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Regulation (EU) 2018\/1999 on the governance of the energy union and climate action<\/p>\n<p>It aims to ensure that the European Union\u2019s (EU) energy union strategy is implemented in a coordinated and coherent manner across its five dimensions.<br \/>\nMore broadly, it also aims to ensure that the EU achieves its objectives, in particular the targets of the 2030 policy framework for climate and energy and of the Paris Agreement on climate change.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Points\"><\/span>Key Points<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The energy union strategy has five dimensions:<\/p>\n<p>decarbonisation,<br \/>\nenergy efficiency,<br \/>\nenergy security,<br \/>\nthe internal energy market,<br \/>\nresearch, innovation and competitiveness.<\/p>\n<p>The regulation has a number of key features.<\/p>\n<p>It requires EU Member States:<br \/>\nto produce national integrated energy and climate plans for 2021 to 2030 by 31 December 2019, and subsequently by 1 January 2029 and every ten years thereafter;<br \/>\nto prepare long-term low-emission strategies with a 50-year perspective and report them to the European Commission, in view of contributing to broader sustainable development goals and the long-term goal set by the Paris Agreement;<br \/>\nto produce biennial progress reports on the implementation of the plans, from 15 March 2023 onwards, to track progress across the five dimensions of the energy union.<\/p>\n<p>It establishes a repeated consultation process between the Commission and Member States and fosters regional cooperation between Member States, especially before the plans are finalised, and then every 10 years for the following 10-year periods. For 2021\u20132030, the plans need to be updated by 30 June 2024.<\/p>\n<p>It requires the Commission to monitor and assess Member States\u2019 progress towards the targets, objectives and contributions set in their national plans.<\/p>\n<p>It sets out the requirements for national and EU inventory systems for greenhouse gas emissions, policies, measures and projections.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Amending_legislation\"><\/span>Amending legislation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Regulation (EU) 2021\/1119, known as the European climate law, amends Regulation (EU) 2018\/1999. It sets a binding EU target of a net domestic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% (compared with 1990 levels) by 2030, and undertakes to set a climate target for 2040 within 6 months of the first global stocktaking under the Paris Agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Delegated acts<\/p>\n<p>The Commission has the power to adopt delegated acts to adapt the national energy and climate plans template to amendments to the EU\u2019s energy and climate policy framework that are directly and specifically related to the EU\u2019s contributions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.<br \/>\nIt also has the power to adopt delegated acts to take account of changes in the global warming potentials and internationally agreed inventory guidelines, to set substantive requirements for the EU inventory system and to set up the registries.<\/p>\n<p>Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020\/1044 supplements Regulation (EU) 2018\/1999 with regard to values for global warming potentials and the greenhouse gas inventory guidelines, and with regard to the EU\u2019s inventory system:<br \/>\nit repeals Delegated Regulation (EU) No 666\/2014 from 1 January 2021;<br \/>\nit applies to reports submitted by Member States from 2021 onwards;<\/p>\n<p>Member States and the Commission will use the global warming potentials listed in its Annex I for the purpose of determining and reporting greenhouse gas inventories data.<br \/>\nImplementing acts<\/p>\n<p>The Commission has adopted two implementing acts:<\/p>\n<p>Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020\/1208 on the structure, format, submission processes and review of information that Member States report in line with Regulation (EU) 2018\/1999; and<br \/>\nImplementing Regulation (EU) 2020\/1294 on the EU\u2019s renewable energy financing mechanism.<\/p>\n<p>Repeal<\/p>\n<p>The regulation repeals Regulation (EU) No 525\/2013 on the monitoring and reporting mechanism for greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Application_Background\"><\/span>Application &amp; Background<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It has applied since 24 December 2018.<\/p>\n<p>BACKGROUND<br \/>\nFor further information, see:<\/p>\n<p>Energy union (European Commission).<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"MAIN_DOCUMENT\"><\/span>MAIN DOCUMENT<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Regulation (EU) 2018\/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, amending Regulations (EC) No 663\/2009 and (EC) No 715\/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Directives 94\/22\/EC, 98\/70\/EC, 2009\/31\/EC, 2009\/73\/EC, 2010\/31\/EU, 2012\/27\/EU and 2013\/30\/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 2009\/119\/EC and (EU) 2015\/652 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 525\/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, pp. 1\u201377).<\/p>\n<p>Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) 2018\/1999 have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.<\/p>\n<p>RELATED DOCUMENTS<br \/>\nCommission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020\/1294 of 15 September 2020 on the Union renewable energy financing mechanism (OJ L 303, 17.9.2020, pp. 1\u201317).<\/p>\n<p>Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020\/1208 of 7 August 2020 on structure, format, submission processes and review of information reported by Member States pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018\/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 749\/2014 (OJ L 278, 26.8.2020, pp. 1\u2013132).<\/p>\n<p>Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020\/1044 of 8 May 2020 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2018\/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to values for global warming potentials and the inventory guidelines and with regard to the Union inventory system and repealing Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 666\/2014 (OJ L 230, 17.7.2020, pp. 1\u20136).<\/p>\n<p>Council Decision (EU) 2016\/1841 of 5 October 2016 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (OJ L 282, 19.10.2016, pp. 1\u20133).<\/p>\n<p>Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: A policy framework for climate and energy in the period from 2020 to 2030 (COM(2014) 15 final\/2, 28.1.2014).<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Information_exchange_mechanism_in_the_field_of_energy\"><\/span>Information exchange mechanism in the field of energy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Decision (EU) 2017\/684 \u2014 sharing information on energy-related intergovernmental agreements and non-binding instruments between EU countries and non-EU countries<\/p>\n<p>It sets up a system for sharing information between EU countries and the European Commission about energy agreements signed between one or several EU countries, on the one side, and non-EU countries or international organisations, on the other side.<\/p>\n<p>The aim is to ensure that intergovernmental agreements signed by EU countries with non-EU countries or international organisations are consistent with EU law. This should ensure proper functioning of the internal market, enhance security of supply in the EU, and lead to better transparency and coordination in energy matters between EU countries and with the Commission.<br \/>\nIt repeals Decision No 994\/2012\/EU.<\/p>\n<p>Key Points<\/p>\n<p>The decision mainly covers legally binding agreements between an EU country and a non-EU country (or international organisation) concerning the purchase, trade, sale, transit, storage or supply of energy in or to an EU country or involving any energy infrastructure within the EU.<\/p>\n<p>When starting such negotiations, EU countries must inform the Commission as early as possible before they begin and keep the Commission regularly informed on progress through a dedicated web-based application.<\/p>\n<p>Before finalising an intergovernmental agreement or amendment, the EU country concerned must take \u2018utmost account\u2019 of the Commission\u2019s opinion on the compatibility of the agreement with EU law.<br \/>\nFollowing ratification of any energy agreement, the EU country must notify the Commission, including the reasons for any departure from the Commission\u2019s legal opinion.<\/p>\n<p>EU countries may optionally notify non-binding instruments to the Commission. These are arrangements which are not legally binding, typically memoranda of understanding, joint declarations, or joint codes of conduct, which set out prices, for example, or the development of infrastructure.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Oil_and_gas\"><\/span>Oil and gas<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Where discussions are about gas and oil, any draft agreement should be notified to the Commission for a prior (ex-ante) assessment. The Commission must inform the EU country concerned within 5 weeks of any doubts it has about compatibility of the agreement with EU law, in particular with internal energy market rules and competition law. The Commission will follow up its doubts with a full opinion within 12 weeks of the original notification.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Electricity\"><\/span>Electricity<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>EU countries can make their own assessment of the legal compatibility of electricity agreements with EU law at the draft agreement stage.<br \/>\nWhere the EU country has not been able to come to a firm conclusion on this compatibility, it must notify the draft agreement to the Commission and the same procedure as in the case of oil and gas ex-ante assessment will be followed.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Time_periods\"><\/span>Time periods<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The time periods for the assessment of any of the above-mentioned agreements (oil and gas, electricity) may be extended with the approval of the EU country, or shortened with the agreement of the Commission to ensure that negotiations are not unduly delayed.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Existing_agreements\"><\/span>Existing agreements<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>By 3 August 2017, EU countries must have notified the Commission of all existing intergovernmental energy agreements including the notified agreements related to electricity. Where the Commission has initial doubts about the legal compatibility with EU laws of these agreements, EU countries will be informed accordingly by the Commission within 9 months of notification.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Information_sharing\"><\/span>Information sharing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Where an EU country has not indicated that certain information is confidential, the Commission will make it available in secure electronic form to all other EU countries. Where the information is confidential, the EU country will provide a summary, including at least the agreement\u2019s subject matter, aim, scope, duration, parties involved and information on the main elements.<br \/>\nRequests for confidentiality do not restrict the access of the Commission itself to confidential information.<br \/>\nThis sharing aims to encourage coordination among EU countries to:<br \/>\nreview developments and achieve consistency in EU external energy relations;<br \/>\nidentify common problems and appropriate action to address them, proposing guidance and solutions;<br \/>\nsupport the development of multilateral intergovernmental agreements involving groups of EU countries or the EU as a whole.<br \/>\nGuidance<\/p>\n<p>By 3 May 2018, the Commission, consulting with EU countries, will develop model clauses and guidance to improve the compliance of future intergovernmental energy agreements with EU law.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Application_Background-2\"><\/span>Application &amp; Background<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It has applied since 2 May 2017.<\/p>\n<p>For more information, see:<\/p>\n<p>Intergovernmental agreements (European Commission).<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"MAIN_DOCUMENT-2\"><\/span>MAIN DOCUMENT<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Decision (EU) 2017\/684 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2017 on establishing an information exchange mechanism with regard to intergovernmental agreements and non-binding instruments between Member States and third countries in the field of energy, and repealing Decision No 994\/2012\/EU (OJ L 99, 12.4.2017, pp. 1-9)<\/p>\n<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-17522\" data-postid=\"17522\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-17522 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    <\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Governance of the energy union Regulation (EU) 2018\/1999 on the governance of the energy union and climate action It aims to ensure that the European Union\u2019s (EU) energy union strategy is implemented in a coordinated and coherent manner across its five dimensions. More broadly, it also aims to ensure that the EU achieves its objectives, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,215],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17522"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17522"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18438,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17522\/revisions\/18438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}