Energy ministers of the EU Member States discussed in Sofia on 19 April 2018 the progress made in the negotiations on the legislative proposals of the “Clean Energy for All Europeans” package.

“The ‘Clean Energy for All Europeans’ legislative package isfundamental to European energy policy”, said Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, who chaired the meeting. In her words, legislative decisions in this area also provide incentives and stability for investors in ensuring the security of Member States' energy systems.

The “Clean Energy for All Europeans” package includes legislative proposals divided into two subgroups. The first consists of the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Directives and the Governance of the Energy Union Regulation. The second subgroup contains four legislative initiatives related to the electricity market design of which currently open for discussions is the Regulation on the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). The trialogues on the legislative proposals from the first subgroup were launched in February and the Presidency held two further rounds of negotiations on the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Directives in March. Significant progress has been made on many of the topics discussed.

In the context of the informal meeting, open political issues were in the focus of the Presidency's efforts to find possible solutions and contribute to a compromise guaranteeing ambitious energy and climate policies at European level.

The fruitful discussion relating to the forthcoming negotiations with the European Parliament on the individual legislative proposals of the first sub-package will ensure maximum progress on the files for a successful conclusion of the negotiations. This is a further step towards realising the EU’s ambitious targets for a low-carbon economy. With regard to the Regulation on the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, the Presidency has prepared several revised proposals which have been discussed in recent weeks with Member States within the Energy Working Party.

The informal meeting of EU energy ministers in Sofia praised the progress achieved in the negotiations and outlined the next steps to the adoption of the legislative proposals of the “Clean Energy for All Europeans” package.