Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2013)113 - Adaptation of Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, by reason of the accession of Croatia - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2013)113 - Adaptation of Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, by reason of the accession of Croatia. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2013)113  |
| date | 06-03-2013 |
The present proposal for a Council Directive adapting Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency is necessitated by the upcoming accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union. The Treaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union[1] was signed by all Member States of the European Union and the Republic of Croatia at Brussels on 9 December 2011. Article 3(3) of the Treaty of Accession provides that it shall enter into force on 1 July 2013 provided that all the instruments of ratification have been deposited before that date.
Article 3 i of the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of Croatia enables the institutions of the Union to adopt before accession measures referred to, inter alia, in Article 50 of the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Croatia i. These measures shall enter into force only subject to and on the date of the entry into force of the Treaty of Accession.
Article 50 of the Act of Accession provides that where acts of the institutions adopted prior to accession require adaptation by reason of accession, and the necessary adaptations have not been provided for in that Act or its Annexes, the Council or the Commission (if the original acts were adopted by the Commission) shall adopt the necessary acts.
The present proposal covers Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency which requires technical adaptation by reason of the accession of Croatia.
The energy consumption figures for 2020 given in the energy efficiency Directive cover the EU27. With the accession of Croatia, the energy consumption figures are updated to take into account 28 countries. As this is based on the same underlying energy model figures, this can be considered a technical adaptation.
The present proposal remains outside the package of proposals COM(2013) 51 to COM(2013) 63 which the Commission transmitted to the Council on 8 February 2013. The package of proposals COM(2013) 51 to COM(2013) 63 covered only technical adaptations to the acquis which were published in the Official Journal of the European Union up to and including 1 September 2012.
Directive 2012/27/EU[3] requires Member States to set indicative national energy efficiency targets, and in so doing the Member States should take into account the Union's 2020 energy consumption i. Due to the accession of Croatia it is necessary to technically adapt the projected energy consumption figures for the European Union in 2020 to reflect the EU 28. Projections made in 2007 showed a primary energy consumption in 2020 of 1842 Mtoe for the 27 Member States of the EU. The same projections show a primary energy consumption in 2020 of 1853 Mtoe for the EU 28 including Croatia. A 20 % reduction results in 1483 Mtoe in 2020, i.e. a reduction of 370 Mtoe as compared to projections. This purely technical adaptation is necessary to allow Directive 2012/27/EU to be applicable in Croatia.
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As this proposal is of a purely technical nature and does not involve any political choices, consultations with interested parties or impact assessments would not have made sense.
The legal basis for the proposal is Article 50 of the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Croatia.
The principles of subsidiarity and proportionality are fully respected. The action of the Union is necessary under the principle of subsidiarity (Article 5 (3) TEU) because it concerns technical adaptations to legal acts which were enacted by the Union. The proposal respects the principle of proportionality (Article 5 i TEU) because it does not go beyond what is necessary to reach the objective pursued.
The proposal has no budgetary implications.