Europe’s energy system is increasingly unbalanced due to intermittent renewable sources like wind and solar, often relying on fossil fuels for stability. Achieving balance is key for energy reliability, climate goals, economic growth, and technological innovation. This opinion explores how Member States can integrate renewables while ensuring system stability and advancing decarbonisation, focusing on managing intermittent energy effectively.
Ongoing (updated on 22/05/2025) - Bureau decision date: 23/01/2025
The recommendations of this EESC own-initiative opinion focus on ensuring a more competitive and economically, environmentally and socially sustainable European maritime space to increase the global competitiveness of the EU shipping sector. This can be achieved through broader investment policies and legislative initiatives. The social partners and civil society must be actively involved in these efforts.
Download — EESC opinion: Strengthening the EU maritime space through coordinated investment policies, social partners and civil society
In this opinion, the EESC calls for a general European strategy for geothermal energy development in order to harness the potential of geothermal energy. Geothermal energy production has extremely low greenhouse gas emissions, thus reducing the continent’s dependence on fossil fuels and facilitating its decarbonisation, thereby making a significant contribution to achieving the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality goals.
Download — EESC opinion: The potential of geothermal energy for the green transition
Member States should facilitate inclusive engagement, openness and transparency with civil society in all areas of RWM. Available funding should be used to increase the capacity of civil society groups, particularly local communities close to nuclear installations, to participate independently in projects and studies to assess participation and transparency practices in RWM. Member States shall assume all their responsibilities so as not to leave future generations with the burden of processing nuclear waste, whatever its nature, lifespan and hazard level. The development of shared solutions, including but not limited to multinational radioactive waste repositories, could be of interest to some EU Member States, particularly countries with small or medium-sized inventories.
Download — EESC opinion: Radioactive waste management: a civil society perspective
