Proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE adapting Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, by reason of the accession of Croatia
Date: 2013-03-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Croatia, accession to the European Union, approximation of laws, directive (EU), energy saving

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 6.3.2013  
COM(2013) 113 final 

2013/0068 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

adapting Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, by reason of the accession of 
Croatia 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

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 Union1 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(4)  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 
Croatia2. 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/EU3  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 consumption4. 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 

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OJ L 112/10, 24.4.2012, p. 10. 
OJ L 112/21, 24.4.2012, p. 21. 
OJ L 315/1, 14.11.2012, p. 1. 
Article 3(1)(a) of Directive 2012/27/EU 

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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. 

2. 

RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND 
IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

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. 

3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

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  (4)  TEU) 
because it does not go beyond what is necessary to reach the objective pursued. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION 

The proposal has no budgetary implications.  

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2013/0068 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

adapting Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, by reason of the accession of 
Croatia 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 

Having regard to the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of Croatia, and in particular Article 
3(4) thereof, 

Having regard to the Act of Accession of the Republic of Croatia, and in particular Article 50 
thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Pursuant to Article 50 of the Act of Accession, 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  the  Act  of  Accession  or  its  Annexes,  the 
Council, acting by qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, shall, to this 
end, adopt the necessary acts, if the original act was not adopted by the Commission. 

Directive 2012/27/EU1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 
2012 on energy efficiency and amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and 
repealing  Directives  2004/8/EC  and  2006/32/EC  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 consumption2. 

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 

1 
2 

OJ L 315/1, 14.11.2012, p. 1. 
Article 3(1)(a) of Directive 2012/27/EU 

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projections.  This  technical  adaptation  is  necessary  to  allow  Directive  2012/27/EU  to 
be applicable in Croatia. 

(4) 

Directive 2012/27/EU should therefore be amended accordingly, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 

Directive 2012/27/EU shall be amended as set out in the Annex. 

Article 1 

1. 

The adaptations set out in the Annex are without prejudice to the time limit provided 
in Article 28 of Directive 2012/27/EU. 

Article 2 

This Directive shall enter into force subject to, and as from the date of the entry into force of 
the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of Croatia. 

Article 3 

Article 4 

This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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ENERGY 

ANNEX  

32012L0027  L  315/1:  DIRECTIVE  2012/27/EU  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT 
AND  OF  THE  COUNCIL  of  25  October  2012  on  energy  efficiency,  amending  Directives 
2009/125/EC  and  2010/30/EU  and  repealing  Directives  2004/8/EC  and  2006/32/EC  (OJ  L 
315, 14.11.2012, p. 1) : 

a) 

Article 3(1)(a) is replaced by the following:   

‘that  the  Union's  2020  energy  consumption  has  to  be  no  more  than  1483  Mtoe  of  primary 
energy or no more than 1086 Mtoe of final energy;’ 

b) 

Article 3(2) is replaced by the following: 

‘By 30 June 2014, the Commission shall assess progress achieved and whether the Union is 
likely to achieve energy consumption of no more than 1483 Mtoe of primary energy and/or no 
more than 1086 Mtoe of final energy in 2020.’ 

c) 

Article 3(3)(d) is replaced by the following:   

‘compare  the  results  under  points  (a)  to  (c)  with  the  quantity  of  energy  consumption  that 
would  be  needed  to  achieve  energy  consumption  of  no  more  than  1483  Mtoe  of  primary 
energy and/or no more than 1086 Mtoe of final energy in 2020.’  

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