The EESC takes note of the Fourth Report on the State of the Energy Union (SEU), supports the objectives of the Energy Union and welcomes the emphasis on the engagement and mobilisation of EU society to take full ownership of the Energy Union.
Download — EESRK nuomonė: Report on the State of the Energy Union
The key message of the opinion is that transforming the energy system towards carbon-free, decentralised and digitalised supply offers enormous opportunities, in particular for structurally weak and rural regions in Europe. The development of renewable energy (RE) can have a major and beneficial impact on employment, and can be configured so as to provide a completely new stimulus for the regional economy. There is therefore potential for mutually reinforcing the positive effects of Europe's energy and cohesion policies. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) finds it regrettable that both the Commission and the Member States have yet to properly recognise this potential, let alone exploit it.
Download — EESC opinion: The effects of a new carbon-free, decentralised and digitalised energy supply structure on jobs and regional economies (own initiative opinion)
The European Economic and Social Committee welcomes the opportunity to provide an opinion on the Third report on State of the Energy Union by the European Commission, as it did before for the first and second reports. As expressed in previous opinions, the EESC strongly supports the idea of a European Energy Union and would like to stress that the Energy Union is not only relevant to sectoral policies such as energy, transport and climate but offers opportunities to make Europe more democratic, more cohesive, more competitive, and more just.
Download — EESC opinion: Third report on the State of the Energy Union
While the EU is increasing its ambitions under the "Fit for 55" package, Europe's coal regions in transition are facing unprecedented structural change, exacerbated by the major energy crisis resulting from Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the damage caused by the COVID -19 pandemic.
The webinar took place in the context of the EESC Thematic Study Group on Energy, in cooperation with the EESC INT Section. It concentrated on the main clean energy sources and the impact of the current transition to a carbon-neutral economy on the markets and on society.
This study deals with the use of hydrogen for the de-carbonization of the Resources and Energy Intensive Industries (REIIs) and gives a specific insight of the situation of the steel-making industry.
