COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT Accompanying the document Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the Governance of the Energy Union, amending Directive 94/22/EC, Directive 98/70/EC, Directive 2009/31/EC, Regulation (EC) No 663/2009, Regulation (EC) No 715/2009, Directive 2009/73/EC, Council Directive 2009/119/EC, Directive 2010/31/EU, Directive 2012/27/EU, Directive 2013/30/EU and Council Directive (EU) 2015/652 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 525/2013
Date: 2016-11-30
Institutions: Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission
Subjects: adaptation to climate change, energy cooperation, energy diversification, energy efficiency, energy research, greenhouse gas, reduction of gas emissions, renewable energy, single market

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 30.11.2016  SWD(2016) 395 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT  Accompanying the document Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL   on the Governance of the Energy Union,  amending Directive 94/22/EC, Directive 98/70/EC, Directive 2009/31/EC, Regulation (EC) No 663/2009, Regulation (EC) No 715/2009, Directive 2009/73/EC, Council Directive 2009/119/EC, Directive 2010/31/EU, Directive 2012/27/EU, Directive 2013/30/EU and Council Directive (EU) 2015/652 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 {COM(2016) 759 final} {SWD(2016) 394 final}  
 
 
Impact assessment on Proposal for a Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union  

Executive Summary Sheet 

A. Need for action 

Why? What is the problem being addressed? Maximum 11 lines 
The  existing  EU  acquis  on  planning,  reporting  and  monitoring  is  not  well  suited  to  support  the 
implementation  of  the  Energy  Union.  Current  obligations  are  often  incoherent  within  the  energy  field 
and inconsistent between the energy and climate fields, leading to unnecessary administrative burden 
and  inefficient  regulation  and  planning.  Furthermore,  the  current  policy  process  between  Member 
States  and the  Commission  is  inadequate to achieve the Energy  Union objectives, notably the  2030 
targets  including  for  renewable  energy  and  energy  efficiency,  and  synchronisation  with  the  Paris 
Climate Agreement. Member States, citizens as well as investors are affected. A REFIT Fitness Check 
of  the  existing  obligations  in  the  energy  acquis  as  well  as  their  interlinkages  with  the  climate  acquis 
was carried out 

What is this initiative expected to achieve? Maximum 8 lines 
The  initiative  aims  at  establishing  Integrated  National  Energy  and  Climate  Plans  and 
streamlining planning, reporting and monitoring obligations in the energy and climate fields. It 
also  aims  at  establishing  a  coordinated  and  coherent  Governance  process  between  the 
Commission and Member States, which at the same time enables the EU complying with its 
international climate obligations. 
What is the value added of action at the EU level? Maximum 7 lines  
EU  level  action  is  justified  and  necessary  in  view  of  the  many  transnational  aspects  of  the 
Energy  Union  as  well  as  the  need  to  set  up  new  National  Plans  and  streamline  existing 
obligations. Member States cannot ensure implementation through national regulation alone. 
Moreover, bearing in  mind that some of the Energy  Union objectives are set at EU  level (in 
particular the 2030 target for renewable energy), an EU level process is required in order to 
meet these. 

B. Solutions 

What  legislative  and  non-legislative  policy  options  have  been  considered?  Is  there  a  preferred 
choice or not? Why? Maximum 14 lines  
The  Impact  Assessment  shows  a  preference  for  a  single  legislative  act  on  Energy  Union 
governance that replaces the relevant parts of the energy acquis and fully replaces the MMR.  
A  single  legislative  act  on  Energy  Union  governance  that  replaces  the  relevant  parts  of  the 
energy acquis and the relevant parts of the MMR comes close in terms of costs and benefits.  
The  preferred  package  would  also  consist  of  Member  States  updating  Integrated  National 
Energy  and  Climate  Plans  twice  during  2021  to  2030  and  reporting  biennially  on  their 
implementation  through  comprehensive  Progress  Reports.  The  Commission  would  annually 
monitor  collective  progress  through  the  State  of  the  Energy  Union.  It  is  proposed  that  the 
Commission  should  furthermore  issue  recommendations  on  National  Plans  based  on  a 
process  set  in  legislation,  as  part  of  its  monitoring  and  in  order  to  ensure  delivery  of  the 
Energy Union objectives. 
Who supports which option? Maximum 7 lines  
A  majority  of  respondents  to  the  Public  Consultation  support  the  general approach, and the 
preferred  option.  On  the  Governance  process,  Member  States  emphasised  the  necessity  to 
balance  investment  certainty  with  flexibility  to  allow  for  adapting  the  National  Plans  to 
changing circumstances. 

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C. Impacts of the preferred option 

What are the benefits of the preferred option (if any, otherwise main ones)? Maximum 12 lines                                       
The Energy Union Governance will bring  significant benefits to Member States, citizens and 
business through more stable policy frameworks and better informed policies across the five 
dimensions  of  the  Energy Union.  The  preferred approach to  the  Governance is  expected to 
generate  substantial  benefits  in  terms  of  a  timely  and  more  efficient  achievement  of  the 
Energy  Union  objectives,  promoting  investor  certainty  and  synchronising  with  the  Paris 
Climate Agreement. The transition towards a more secure and sustainable energy system is 
estimated  to  require  some  €  200  billion  annual  investments  in  the  next  decade;  the  Energy 
Union  Governance  will  allow  for  the  necessary  certainty  and  predictability  to  facilitate  such 
investments and make them more efficient. 

What are the costs of the preferred option (if any, otherwise main ones)? Maximum 12 lines                                       
The  preferred  option  for  streamlining  by  a  single  legislative  act  is  estimated  to  incur  total 
cumulative  costs  for  Member  States  in  the  period  2021-2030  of  219.3  million  EUR,  which 
include both one-time implementation cost and annual costs and imply estimated cost savings 
of  3.4  million  EUR  compared  to  the  baseline.  In  comparison,  streamlining by  sector-specific 
legislation would incur total cumulative costs for Member States of 330.1 million EUR. Actual 
cost  savings  of  the  package  of  preferred  options  are  expected  to  be  higher  than  3.4  million 
EUR,  as  the  package,  inter  alia,  proposes  an  alignment  of  the  periodicity  of  planning, 
reporting and monitoring obligations which will reduce administrative burden. As regards the 
Governance process, costs  were  not  quantified  due  to  the  procedural  nature  of  options,  but 
are expected to incur equal or somewhat higher administrative costs than the baseline due to 
the establishment of a new Governance process. 
How will businesses, SMEs and micro-enterprises be affected? Maximum 8 lines 

Positive  impacts  on  businesses  in  general  and  SMEs  in  particular  are  expected  through 
enhanced  investor  certainty  and  transparency  resulting  from  2030  planning  for  the  Energy 
Union.  The  initiative  will  not  affect  the  nature  of  information  obligations  nor  introduce  new 
ones on businesses. 

Will there be significant impacts on national budgets and administrations? Maximum 4 lines 
Member  States'  administrations  will  benefit  from  the  streamlined  planning  and  reporting 
obligations.  They  are  also  required  to  develop  National  Plans,  which  incur  costs  but  also 
enable  economic  efficiency  through  better  planning  and  cost-savings.  Member  States' 
administrations  will  also  be  affected  by  their  participation  in  the  new  Governance  with  the 
Commission as well as other Member States. 
Will there be other significant impacts? Max 6 lines  
Citizens  will  be  better  informed  about  the  Energy  Union  implementation  by  means  of 
streamlined  and  more  transparent  obligations  for  Member  States  and  the  Commission.  The 
preferred option is also expected to have positive environmental impacts and to increase the 
EU's performance regarding climate action. 

D. Follow up 

When will the policy be reviewed? Maximum 4 lines  
No  review  of  the  legislative  initiative  has  so  far  been  planned.  An  evaluation  of  its 
implementation should be done in the mid-2020s, which might lead to a review. 

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