EN    EN EN 
 
EN    EN  EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
Brussels, 8.3.2011 
SEC(2011) 276 final 
  
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING PAPER 
National Energy Efficiency Action Plans (NEEAPs): 
update on implementation  
 
 
Accompanying document to the 
  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE CO MMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMI TTEE OF THE REGIONS 
  
Energy Efficiency Plan 2011 
  
COM(2011) 109 final 
 
 
 
EN 2   EN NATIONAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY ACTION PLANS (NEEAP S): 
UPDATE ON IMPLEMENTATION 
1. POLICY OBJECTIVES  
Directive 2006/32/EC on Energy End-Use Effici ency and Energy Services introduced an 
obligation for Member States to submit National Energy Efficiency Action Plans (NEEAPs). The Plans are intended to descri be national strategies and m easures to achieve the energy 
saving targets established by Member States accord ing to the provisions of the Directive. The 
NEEAPs aim at achieving significant energy savi ngs in end-use sectors. For the purpose of 
their first NEEAPs, each Member State adopted an overall national indicative savings target 
to be achieved by 2016 and an intermediate target for 2010. 
Council conclusions in Ma rch 2007 stated that: “T he European Council: st resses the need to 
increase energy efficiency in the EU so as to achieve the objective of saving 20% of the EU's 
energy consumption compared to projections for 2020, as estimated by the Commission in its Green Paper on Energy Efficiency, and to make good use of their National Energy Efficiency 
Action Plans for this purpose.”  
The purpose of the first NEEAP was to indicat e specific measures that Member States 
intended to implement in order to ensure th at their national energy saving targets are 
achieved. The NEEAPs also had the role of show ing how in practice Member States intend to 
comply with the Directive's provisions on th e exemplary role of the public sector, the 
provision of information and advice on energy e fficiency to end users, obligations for the 
energy sector to contribute to energy sa ving, etc. The Commission presented its 
comprehensive assessment of the first NEEAPs in  the form of a Staff Working Paper in July 
2009 (SEC889/2009)
1. 
2. LEGAL BASIS FOR NEEAP S 
Originally, the legal base for NEEAPs was se t in Directive 2006/32/EC. The Directive in its 
Article 14 specifies that: 
• Member States shall submit to the Commission the following NEEAPs: 
– a first NEEAP not later than 30 June 2007; 
– a second NEEAP not later than 30 June 2011; 
– a third NEEAP not later than 30 June 2014. 
• NEEAPs shall describe the energy efficiency improvement measures planned to reach the 
targets set out in the Directive's Article 4(1)  and (2), as well as to comply with the 
provisions on the exemplary role of the public  sector and provision  of information and 
advice to final customers set out in Articles 5(1) and 7(2) respectively. 
                                                 
1 Synthesis of the complete assessment of all 27 Natio nal Energy Efficiency Action Plans as required by 
Directive 2006/32/EC on energy en d-use efficiency and energy serv ices: “Moving Forward Together on 
Saving Energy”, Commission Staff Working Document SEC(2009) 889. 
 
EN 3   EN • The second and third NEEAPs shall: 
– include a thorough analysis and ev aluation of the preceding EEAP; 
– include the final results with regard to th e fulfilment of the energy savings targets 
set out in Article 4(1) and (2); 
– include plans for - and information on th e anticipated effects of - additional 
measures which address any existing or e xpected shortfall vis-à-vis the target; 
– in accordance with Article 15(4), us e and gradually increase the use of 
harmonised efficiency indicators and benchm arks, both for the evaluation of past 
measures and estimated effects of planned future measures; 
– be based on available data, supplemented with estimates. 
However, in June 2010 the recast Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD, 
2010/31/EU) created a link betwee n NEEAPs and the reportin g required under the EPBD. 
The recast Directive provides for Member States to report on lists of measures and 
instruments to promote the objectives of th e recast Directive (Article 10), measures 
undertaken instead of establishing an inspec tion regime for heating or air-conditioning 
systems (Articles 14 and 15) a nd possibly also their national plans for increasing the number 
of nearly-zero energy buildings (Article 9). This  reporting is to be included in the second and 
following NEEAPs in order to reduce the administ rative burden related to the reporting. The 
reporting schedules for the above provisions in the recast EPBD have also been adjusted to the NEEAP frequency. 
3. R
ESULTS (ANALYSIS OF THE FIRST NEEAP S) 
When the notification deadline expired ( 30 June 2007), the Commi ssion had received 
NEEAPs from only two Member States – Finland and the UK. Another fifteen Member State 
Plans were notified and included in the firs t assessment - Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech 
Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Germa ny, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, the 
Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and Spain. The 27th NEEAP was notified on 6 June 2008, 
almost a year after the initial transposition dead line. With delays in translation, the individual 
assessments of all the 27 NEEAPs were  concluded only in early December 2008. 
Many Member States have recognised that with  an integrated approach these national plans 
can become the key tool not only for the eff ective implementation of  Directive 2006/32/EC, 
but also for the real push to achieving energy savings which go beyond the particular obligations arising from the current EU legisl ation on end-use energy efficiency. It has been 
found that NEEAPs have a great potential to help with focussing and streamlining Member 
States' policy, legal and support actions aimed at saving energy in a cost-effective way, thus 
reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, incr easing the competitiveness of industry and 
improving the energy security of the EU. 
However, it is also clear that NEEAPs can b ecome effective only when they stand for real 
action: they should set a quantitative, measurab le target with a time schedule and concrete 
steps on who is doing what and the budgeta ry and human resources available.  
Following the assessment of the NEEAPs, the Commission has communicated its 
observations to each Member States. Bilateral m eetings have been held with several Member 
 
EN 4   EN States which requested clarifi cations. Several Member States indicated their willingness to 
improve their first NEEAPs (e.g. add/improve measures for important areas/sectors not 
sufficiently covered in their current plans, prov ide further details of planned actions, etc). In 
2009 Lithuania and Hungary sign ificantly improved and resu bmitted their first NEEAP. 
The Commission's analysis of the first NEEAPs  showed that Member States intended to 
launch a diversity of policy packages and meas ures targeting different end-use sectors. A 
number of Member States introduced ambiti ous national indicative energy savings targets 
(e.g. Cyprus, Lithuania, Italy, UK and Ireland ). Some NEEAPs demonstrated coherent 
strategies backed by institutio nal and financial provisions.  
 
EN 5   EN  2016 target in final energy 
savings as indicated in first 
NEEAP  Comment  
MS value  unit %  
AT 80400 TJ 9%  
BE 27515 GWh 9% From the synthesis Plan2 
BE-
BRU  2199 GWh  2929 GWh was reported in the separate regional EEAP 
BE-Wa  8358 GWh  10478 GWh reported in the separate regional EEAP 
BE-Fla  16959 GWh  Same target reported in the separate regional EEAP and 
the synthesis Plan 
BG 7291 GWh 9%  
CY 185000 toe 10%  
CZ 19842 GWh 9%  
DK ND   Annual 9.6 PJ saving of tota l final energy consumption 
(2008-2013) 
EE 7.65 PJ 9%  
FI 17800 GWh 9%  
FR 12 Mtoe 9%  
DE 833 PJ 9% This is with factor 1 for electricity, with taking into 
account factor 2.5 the planned measures are expected to 
bring 1080 PJ 
GR 18659 GWh 9%  
HU 15955 GWh 9%  
IE 13117 GWh 9%  
IT 126327 GWh 9.6%  
LV 3483 GWh 9%  
LT 400 ktoe 11%  
LU 1582 GWh 9%  
MT 378 GWh 9%  
                                                 
2 Belgium originally submitted 3 regional Plans for Wallonia, Flanders and Brussels Capital, which had 
targets expressed in different units. This was later revised and a umbrella Plan was adopted, where the 
targets have been standardized an d recalculated. Therefore, the targ ets for each region have slightly 
changed – see comments. 
 
EN 6   EN  2016 target in final energy 
savings as indicated in first 
NEEAP  Comment  
MS value  unit %  
NL 51190  GWh  9%  
PL 192.4 PJ 9%  
PT 1.792 Mtoe 9.8% This saving is for 2015 (final energy), no target indicated 
for 2016 
RO 2800 ktoe 13.5%  
SK 37215 TJ 9%  
SI 4261 GWh 9%  
ES ND   Goal  of 11% final energy savings by 2012 (equals 24776 
ktoe primary energy) 
SE 32.3 TWh Min 9% This corresponds to 41.1 TWh primary energy 
UK 136.5 TWh 9% "Expected savings" are 272.7 TWh (18%), to which UK 
does not commit officially 
 
In contrast, a number of first NEEAPs show a scattering of fragment ed energy efficiency 
measures. A few NEEAPs have also shown a considerable gap be tween the political 
commitment to energy efficiency and the measures adopted or planned as well as the resources allocated for preparing them. 
All NEEAPs address the buildings sector , especially residential buildings. Many include 
promising regulatory, financial and information tools and initiatives for refurbishment of 
existing buildings. Some Member States declar e ambitious strengthening of building codes 
and support passive or low-en ergy housing. Some NEEAPs esta blish a link between energy 
efficiency support and social pol icy especially as re gards social housing (e.g. the NEEAPs of 
Greece, Slovenia and UK as well as the regiona l Action Plans of the Walloon and Brussels-
Capital regions). 
A number of NEEAPs in clude measures in the tertiary , transport  and industrial sectors  
although in some Member States measures a ddressing these sectors are weak or missing. 
Despite the importance of transport in end- use energy consumption, strong energy saving 
measures addressing that sector are presen t only in about half of the NEEAPs.  
Measures to save energy in agriculture are absent from most Action Plans. 
Copies of the first NEEAPs from all EU -27 Member States are downloadable at: 
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/ efficiency/end-use_en.htm
  
The synthesis of the Commission's assessment of  the first NEEAPs and its assessments of 
individual NEEAPs for each Member State are available at: 
http://ec.europa.eu/ener gy/efficiency/doc/sec_2009_0889.pdf   
 
EN 7   EN 4. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FIRST NEEAP S 
In order to improve the quality of the im plementation of NEEAPs, ongoing since mid-2008, 
the Commission has facilitated bi-annual exch anges between relevant policy-makers and 
national agencies from EU-27 + Croatia throug h a 'Concerted Action'. This activity has been 
particularly important for sharing informati on on the practical implementation of various 
types of energy efficiency measur es included in the first NEEAP. 
From the information collected from Member Stat es via questionnaires at the end of 2010 it is 
clear that most of the national measures so far implemented under the NEEAPs have focused 
on improving the energy performance of buildings  (public and private services as well as 
residential). The number of measures implemente d to trigger energy sa vings in the industry 
(non-ETS) and industrial buildings sector s have also been relatively high. Coverage of the 
measures to be implemented in the transport s ector and in agriculture has been the lowest.  
 
 
Some interesting measures were mentioned und er the target group ‘O ther’. Those included 
school children’s training and education (FI), financial instruments and smart metering in the 
field of energy research (DE), non- tradable energy efficiency obligations for the energy sector 
(IE) and voluntary agreements w ith housing co-operatives (NL). 
Although big variations in coverage between s ectors can be observed, absolute differences 
might not be so large – measure types, and th e relation between EU-wide and national policy 
instruments, might be interpreted differently in  different Member States. For example, quite a 
number of Member States did not report that they have any taxes applied in the transport 
sector or any regulation or sta ndards applying to cars. Probably  these MS did not take into 
account fuel excises that shoul d be applied according to Directive 2003/96/EC on taxation of 
energy products and electricity or Regulat ion EC/443/2009 on setting emission performance 
standards for new passenger cars. 

 
EN 8   EN Based on practical experience in the implem entation of policy measures, national policy 
officials from all EU-27 and Croa tia indicated different levels of importance and effectiveness 
of measures. 
 
 
The feedback from the Member States pointed out  that in practice, the importance of different 
measure types will vary from sector to sector  and the results should be  taken only as a broad-
brush assessment. The answers should be seen as an estimation of the cost-effectiveness of 
different measures, how well they complement other measures etc. Some measures may be 
less important in achieving the target on the basi s that they do not have a distinct savings 
estimate at this stage (e.g. information campa igns, training and educ ation, ESCOs), however 
they are nevertheless considered important under pinning measures e.g. in facilitating uptake 
of available programmes promoting EE etc.  
In general, from informal exchanges with the Member States it is clear that the 
implementation of the NEEAPs can not only ge nerate major additional energy savings but 
also contribute to the improvement of en ergy security, climate protection and the 
improvement of the economic situation especial ly for small businesses and the creation of 
new jobs. Several Member States (e.g. Lithuani a) indicate that they have included some 
elements of their NEEAPs in  their national economic recove ry plans (mostly related to 
improving energy efficiency of buildings). 
The Commission's exchanges with Member States  have also shown that the first NEEAP can 
only be taken as a starting point for monito ring national energy policy measures and that 
Member States intend to improve this  monitoring in the second NEEAPs.  
5. SECOND NEEAP S  
With the second NEEAPs, due by 30 June 2011, Me mber States are obliged to report on the 
strategy, if necessary a revised strategy based on planned and implemented energy efficiency 
 
EN 9   EN measures to achieve the indicative national ener gy saving targets, combined with calculated 
and/or estimated achieved energy savings in 2010 and to revisit the projection of savings in 
2016. 
The Energy Services Directive obliges Member Stat es to report and evalua te a set of measures 
that contribute to the 2016 self -set targets for final energy savings. In addition, the second 
NEEAP could already be now used for reporting on  all energy savings , including energy 
savings achieved through measures addressing s upply and transmission/distribution of energy 
and measures addressing ETS industries.  
The Commission has launched several support stru ctures for the preparation of the second 
NEEAPs, including training workshops, on-lin e and telephone helpdesk and a NEEAP 
template. The common NEEAP template (distri buted to the Member States in November 
2010) has integrated modules to encourage add itional reporting of – for instance – savings 
from supply side measures or improvement of distribution. Formal re porting obligations from 
the recast of Directive on the Energy Performa nce of Buildings (2010/31/EU) have also been 
incorporated. 
The Commission organised two training workshops  for officials from all EU-27 as well as 
other interested countries (Croatia and Norway ) on the preparation of the second NEEAPs in 
October and November 2010. 
In the second part of 2010, following discussion  with Member States representatives in the 
Concerted Action on Energy Services Directive,  it was concluded th at the second NEEAP 
should ideally become a fully comprehensive policy document and as such the key reference publication for national energy efficiency policy.