In the context of the Spring Package, the Commission issued the country-specific recommendations for the Member States on 22nd May. Austria has – in spite of a positive economic forecast and a relatively stable labour market compared to other EU countries – room for improvement regarding the labour market participation of women, educational opportunities for people from a socially deprived and/or with migration background.

 

The proposed Directive on Energy Efficiency envisages a binding energy efficiency target of 30 % for the year 2030. However, the fact that the transport sector has been exempt from the calculation of the energy consumption, even though it is one of the main energy consumers, represents an obstacle to this positive binding target at EU level. Additionally, there are no binding targets at Member State level.

The EU Commission wants to use the draft proposal on risk management in the electricity sector to ensure that Member States themselves and in cooperation with other Member States take sufficient precautions to identify risks in the electricity sector at an early stage and to react to these by taking appropriate measures. This objective is generally welcomed. However, from a democratic point of view the transfer of competences to private-law decision makers in this context, for example to ACER, ENTSO-E or Regional Operational Centres, is to be critically assessed.

The proposed amendment of the Regulation on establishing an Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators shall expand the competencies of ACER and strengthen its position. However, the extended powers of ACER many have far-reaching effects on a Member State, as currently demonstrated by the decision of ACER to split the German-Austrian electricity price zone. That is why the BAK urges not to extend competencies and powers of the agency, but rather make its organisational structure, tasks and procedures more transparent and democratic.

The Regulation on the promotion of renewable energy sources sets a binding target to achieve a 27 % share of renewable energies in the gross final energy consumption in the year 2030. However, binding targets at Member State level do not exist. Additionally, the recommended cross-border opening of national support schemes for renewable energy creates competition between national support schemes. In the end the cost of such competition will be borne by consumers. This issue is intensified by the intention to grant exemptions to certain market players.

The Regulation on governance represents the legal framework, with which the Commission links the current planning and reporting provisions to the Energy Package “Clean Energy for All Europeans”. Instead of laying down national binding targets, the Commission recommends a regulation, which in practice will require great administrative effort and will be difficult to control. Numerous exemptions included in the proposal will additionally contribute to this development. This puts reaching the energy efficiency targets within the framework of the Energy Union at risk.

The Regulation on the internal energy market, which the Commission introduced as part of the Energy Package “Clean Energy for All Europeans”, shall promote the decentralised and fluctuating production of electricity to achieve the climate and energy targets of the European Union by 2030. However, the recommended strengthening of ACER and ENTSO-E as well as the establishment of Regional Operational Centres mean the outsourcing of sovereign decisions to decentralised agencies and private organisations.

The Directive on the internal energy market recommended by the Commission within the framework of the Energy Package “Clean Energy for All Europeans” contains significant changes for consumers. However, only a small proportion of consumers will benefit from smart tariff systems. In view of missing regulatory framework conditions, the introduction of aggregators, which are to promote new business models, pose legal uncertainty and no recognisable added value for consumers.

Two years ago, the European Commission presented 16 initiatives within the strategy for the Digital Single Market. On Wednesday, the responsible Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip presented the mid-term review of this strategy.

 

Last week, the first joint public hearing of two significant proposals regarding a common base for corporate taxation, took place in the European Parliament. In a two-tier procedure the proposals should ensure that profits within the EU are taxed in those Member States in which they are generated. Thereby, multinational companies should be hindered from exploiting different national tax laws in order to minimise their taxes. However, there are still some significant burdens to overcome, before these proposals ultimately might enter into force.