FIEC Newsletter – 4 Οκτωβρίου 2022

On 28th September, the EU ambassadors met in the “Coreper” format to give guidance for further work on the recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).Most notably, the delegations were asked to share their views on the latest compromise proposal of 14th September concerning minimum energy performance standards for residential and non-residential buildings, and on the amendment proposed as part of “REPowerEU” to maximise the solar energy potential of the building stock.

On the first question, some Member States (such as Germany and France) advocated for a more ambitious approach on residential buildings. On non-residential buildings, countries like Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland, Poland, Italy or Romania called for a more lenient approach by aligning residential residential buildings on a trajectory approach.

Regarding solar potential, several Member States (France, Belgium, Spain etc.) raised the question of energy and technology neutrality and others asked for a differentiated approach taking into account their climate or energy situation (e.g., Spain, Portugal or Hungary).

The Czech Presidency concluded by maintaining the ambition to reach a general approach at the Energy Council on 25th October. A revised proposal is expected in mid-October.

On Monday 26 September, the European Commission published a report confirming the effectiveness of SURE, the €100 billion instrument designed to mitigate the risks of unemployment in emergency situations.
SURE supported approximately 31.5 million people and 2.5 million firms in 2020. This represents almost one third of total employment and firms in the 19 beneficiary Member States. SMEs were the primary beneficiaries.
The most supported sectors were accommodation and food services, wholesale and retail trade, and manufacturing. According to the report, the construction sector comes in 4th place.
Almost all of the total planned public expenditure under SURE has now taken place. Half of this has been allocated to short-time work schemes, with one third allocated to measures for the self-employed. Member States have saved an estimated €8.5 billion in interest payments by using SURE, thanks to the EU’s high credit rating.
However, for the time being, the Commission does not plan to extend SURE and make it a permanent tool adapted to the energy crisis, as the S&D group in the European Parliament is calling for.

For example, the Council agreed to a voluntary overall reduction target of 10% of gross electricity consumption and a mandatory reduction target of 5% of the electricity consumption in peak hours. Member states will identify 10% of their peak hours between 1st December 2022 and 31st March 2023 during which they will reduce the demand. Furthermore, the EU-27 agreed to cap the market revenues at 180 euros/MWh for electricity generators that use so-called inframarginal technologies to produce electricity. The surplus revenues will be redirected towards supporting final electricity consumers.

Member States also agreed to set a mandatory temporary solidarity contribution on the profits of businesses active in the crude petroleum, natural gas, coal, and refinery sectors. The proceeds from this solidarity contribution will be used to provide financial support to households and companies and to mitigate the effects of high retail electricity prices. In addition, the ministers agreed that EU countries may temporarily set a price for the supply of electricity to small and medium-sized enterprises to further support SMEs struggling with high energy prices.

“The agreement reached today will bring relief to European citizens and companies”, said Jozef Síkela, Czech Minister of industry and trade.

You can now register to a new event taking place on 19^th October at the Hilton Kyiv: FIEC’s member, Confederation of Builders of Ukraine (CBU), together with its exhibition partner Premier Expo, is hosting the Recovering Forum Ukraine 2022 in Kiev to discuss the future reconstruction of Ukraine. The event will be held with the support of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, and the Energy Efficiency Fund.The goal of Recovery Forum Ukraine 2022 is to unite state and local authorities with international organisations, financial institutions and investors for future recovery projects and to accelerate financing for the reconstruction of destroyed cities and towns.

The Forum programme includes:

• Presentation by communities of destruction regarding further reconstruction and their investment potential. In particular, the Mayor of Kharkiv, Irpen, Buchi, Borodyanka and the heads of other affected settlements of the Kyiv and Sumy regions will participate in the panel of affected territorial communities.
• A series of discussion panels with the participation of representatives of the authorities, construction business, international financial organizations and potential investors.

People’s deputies, representatives of authorities, international construction associations, foundations, institutions and organizations are also invited to participate. Attendance in the forum will be ensured with compliance with all security measures and online participation is also possible.

Check out the programme by clicking on the button below.