Buildings directive: EU Parliament moves to save mandatory energy performance standards

(EurActiv, 2 Feb 2023) The European Parliament’s political parties have agreed to a joint position on the reform of the EU’s buildings directive, saving EU-wide minimum energy performance standards while opening the door to contentious hydrogen-based heating.

In December 2021, the European Commission launched a revamp of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive to help decarbonise the EU’s housing sector, which is responsible for more than a third of the bloc’s CO2 emissions.

At the centre of the proposed reform are so-called minimum energy performance standards (MEPS), which will make renovations mandatory for the worst-performing buildings in Europe.

But resistance from several key EU countries has clouded the proposed revamp. When the Council of the EU voted its position in October, EU member states nearly neutered the mandatory renovation principle, despite opposition from a seven-country coalition led by Denmark and Germany.

Those pushing for a more ambitious directive placed their hopes on the European Parliament to uphold the mandatory renovation principle – and it did.

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EurActiv, 2 Feb 2023: Buildings directive: EU Parliament moves to save mandatory energy performance standards

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