The European Parliament adopted by 530 votes to
112, with 29 abstentions, a resolution on the role of EU cohesion
policy and its actors in implementing the new European energy
policy.
Parliament welcomes the general approach of
linking cohesion policy to the Europe 2020 objectives.
It recalls:
-
the importance of the Structural Funds and
the Cohesion Fund in achieving these short- and long-term
objectives in combating energy poverty in the less developed
regions of the EU and the most vulnerable
households;
- the need for strong EU support for economic, social
and territorial cohesion bearing in mind the current crisis’
negative effect of increasing local and regional disparities in
Europe.
Members believe that European energy projects
could contribute to regional development and stronger
cross-border cooperation by helping regions increase their
capacity to manage energy resource. According to them, investment
in low-emission and renewable energy sources and energy efficiency
can result in supporting regional growth and
jobs.
The resolution stresses that the European Union should act as
quickly as possible to secure its energy future and protect
its interests in this field, and should at the same time offer
substantial financial support for drawing up projects. Stressing
that projected increases in energy pricing may place
citizens in the less developed EU regions at a particular
disadvantage, Members ask that this factor be considered within
cohesion policy planning.
1. Capacity
building: the
resolution stresses that the current climate and energy targets and
any future energy goals beyond 2020 should be based on fair
burden-sharing between European regions and should allow them
the possibility of future development, which is needed.
Parliament:
- supports the simplification of rules and
procedures, the removal of red tape, and increased flexibility
in allocating these funds at both EU and national
level;
- stresses the importance of increasing
administrative capacity at regional and local level in order to
make full and effective use of the funding that will be allocated
to energy projects under cohesion policy;
- believes, not only that JESSICA, ELENA and IEE-MLEI
should be strengthened, but that any funding allocations for
low-emission economy thematic concentrations within the
cohesion policy should be reviewed by 2018 in light of their
absorption rate and adjusted as needed;
- stresses the importance of regularly reviewing the
allocation of cohesion funding for energy projects, in order to
increase the absorption rate and channel the funds into programmes
which have a proven record of absorption, added value and
effectiveness;
- draws the attention of the Member States and the
Commission to the fact that towns, especially small and
medium-sized towns, and rural communities should be eligible
for direct funding aid for energy efficiency, and building
renovation projects, as well as trans-regional and cross-border
projects
- asks for support for initiatives supporting local
and regional capacities to deal with energy savings, inter
alia by ERDF and ESF investments;
- calls on the Commission to establish an EU-wide
cooperation programme, based on the experience of the twinning
programme, in order to improve cooperation between regions with
high rates of absorption of EU funds and those with low absorption
rates and to facilitate the dissemination of best
practices.
2. Partnership agreements: for projects to be properly implemented, Members
feel that regional and local authorities should be consulted
on partnership agreements. They call, therefore, for the
partnership principle to be strengthened, and support a
multi-level governance and decentralised approach to energy
policy and energy efficiency.
Parliament points out that cohesion policy funding
arrangements should ensure that the differing economic, social and
territorial features of regions are fully taken into consideration.
It highlights, in this connection, the role of the regions
located on the external borders of the European Union, and
single out the need to apply broad criteria for assessing energy
projects put forward for cohesion policy funding.
3. Implementation and policy
suggestions: Parliament considers
that all regions still dependent on fossil fuels ought to be
encouraged to use sources of energy compatible with the goals of
smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
The resolution:
- takes the view that consistent rules are needed at
European level along with a mechanism for authorities to access
information from across the Union in order to fully understand
energy market developments;
- supports the use of cohesion and energy policy funds
for cross-border projects with third partner countries and
connections between national networks;
- urges the Commission to maximise the degree of
coordination between the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund, on
the one hand, and the Connecting Europe Facility, on the
other;
- encourages implementation of cross-border
strategies on efficient energy production, distribution and
use;
- calls for full use to be made of synergies between
public and private funds in financing energy
projects;
- supports the revision of the EU VAT Regulation
(2006/112/EC) to allow for a reduction of the VAT rate
applied to regional, local and cross-border projects seeking to
increase energy efficiency.
- calls for the cohesion policy to encourage and support
the upgrade and creation of district heating and cogeneration
plants especially in Central and Eastern Europe..
4. Energy efficiency, renewables and
infrastructure: Parliament agrees
that energy efficiency is vital to the EU's energy goals and should
be promoted above all within the thematic concentration
structure and Operational Programmes. EU measures should
support energy efficiency in the energy production, distribution
and consumption phases. It considers it to be of paramount
importance for investments to be made in energy efficiency and
renewable energy use, in particular in the housing
sector.
The resolution
also:
- stresses the importance of cohesion policy, and of the
financial resources allocated to it, for the full development of
energy storage and transmission infrastructure and networks (with
particular reference to smart grids and distribution) between the
Member States and all regions of the EU, including the outermost
regions; no region of the Member States should remain isolated
from European gas and electricity networks after 2015 or suffer
from inadequate connection to energy networks;
- emphasises the need to develop an integrated and
interconnected energy system, and local and regional smart
distribution and transmission networks for electricity and gas,
together with storage facilities; the sustainable production of
biogas is supported;
- asks the Commission to ensure that energy policy is
‘rural proof’ by addressing in a more comprehensive and
coordinated way the challenges and opportunities that rural areas
face when it comes to energy use and production;
- points out that energy efficiency potential remains
unrealised in the construction and transport sectors, where
investments in the heating of buildings and energy-efficient
public transport represent an opportunity to increase
employment in the sectors concerned;
- notes the imbalance in sustainable resource use
between different Member States and stresses the economies of
scale possible through cross-border cooperation on the
sustainable use of resources and energy efficiency.
5. Competitiveness, jobs and
fighting energy poverty: the resolution stresses that investments in
energy infrastructure and energy-efficient construction and
transport will lead directly to the creation of new
jobs.
Members call for the EU-wide exchange of best
practices so that the impact on energy poverty of policies adopted
in the area of energy may be monitored. They also highlight the
need to address the fragmentation of the EU energy market by
removing barriers and bottlenecks in the relevant legislative
frameworks and in the system of access to public and private funds
for project development and implementation.