DG Energy Newsletter

The collective dimension of citizen engagement can particularly contribute not only to a ‘smarter’ energy use, but also to increasing the EU’s renewable energy production.

Supported by the European Commission, key stakeholders representing consumers and the energy sector committed on 12 December to protect Europeans struggling to pay their energy bills this winter.

Statement by President von der Leyen on ‘REPowerEU: outlook on EU gas supply in 2023'

At a conference in Paris on 13 December, President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new EU delivery of urgently needed power generators to Ukraine, the setting up of a rescEU health and energy hub in Poland, and the donation of energy saving lightbulbs.

The Commission together with industrial actors, research institutes, associations and other relevant parties launched the European Solar PV Industry Alliance on 9 December.

On 8 December, EU Member States gave green light to a Commission proposal to invest €602 million of EU funds in eight cross-border energy infrastructure projects under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for Trans-European Networks for Energy.

The EU and Japan have intensified their cooperation on hydrogen with the signature on 2 December of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to spur innovation and develop an international hydrogen market.

France and Ireland have taken a further important step in constructing the Celtic Interconnector, an underwater electricity connection linking the two EU countries. The contract signature for this EU Project of Common Interest (PCI) took place on 25 November.

The Commission set out on 22 November the intermediate gas storage filling targets that Member States should meet next year in order to reach the 90% gas storage target by 1 November 2023.

The Commission proposed on 22 November a Market Correction Mechanism to protect EU businesses and households from episodes of excessively high gas prices in the EU.

At COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, on 16 November, the EU and Egypt took a further step to boost their long-term cooperation on the clean energy transition by establishing a strategic partnership on renewable hydrogen and preparing the ground for a just energy transition in Egypt.

67 projects will be devoted to improving market and regulatory conditions in the EU for the clean energy transition, notably promoting and rolling out energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy solutions.