The candidate for European Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jorgensen, has made it a priority for his mandate to achieve a substantial reduction in electricity prices for the industry, in line with the complaint contained in the Draghi report. The Danish commissioner also advocated full energy independence from Russia and progress in decarbonization.
For the commissioner candidate, many Europeans are concerned about the transition to a low-carbon economy and its cost, which is why he proposed focusing on the fight against energy poverty. It also pledged to boost the deployment of renewable energy through faster authorization procedures under the auspices of a single window, expand energy networks, develop interconnections, promote carbon capture and storage and new storage technologies, as well as so-called solutions Power to X (electricity converted into sustainable products).
During the debate, MEPs noted that the EU industry is under great pressure and highlighted the challenge of meeting existing targets and regulations. Jorgensen defended that greater access to cheap energy does not necessarily imply more regulations, but rather the opposite and was in favor of substantially reducing the bureaucracy that weighs on the industry, especially in terms of permits, as requested by the president. of the European Commission, Úrsula von der Leyen, in her initial letter.
Dwelling
On housing, the Commissioner-designate said the Commission would start work to adopt a European Affordable Housing Plan that offers technical assistance to cities and Member States and focuses on the investment and skills needed to achieve this. To do this, the future commissioner aspires to have the close collaboration of the European Investment Bank, which already has support programs and whose knowledge could be useful to advance housing financing, a problem that he assured would not be solved even with everything. the budget of the European Commission.
In his response to MEPs’ questions about lower housing prices, Jorgensen said the plan would include a strategy for housing construction, the creation of a new platform together with the European Investment Bank to invest in the sector, more financing of the cohesion fund and a reform of state aid rules.
Several MEPs asked the Commissioner-designate about his stance on nuclear energy and to what extent the Commission intends to support this technology, whether for small modular reactors (SMR) or larger reactors. Jorgensen said that, although the EU will respect each country’s energy mix, nuclear energy will be necessary to achieve the climate transition and will form part of the Commission’s clean energy plans. However, he warned against increasing European dependence on the nuclear industry and fuel-related foreign supply chains, which may also be linked to Russia.
Many MEPs called on the Commissioner-designate to address not only rising prices in both sectors, but also the impact of certain green measures on affordable housing and energy poverty.
Several MEPs called for additional support for energy communities and updated climate targets for 2040, while others called for the EU to address rental market problems due to the rise in short-term rentals.
The chairmen of the committees and the coordinators of the political groups will now meet to evaluate the performance and qualifications of the Commissioner-designate. Based on the committees’ recommendations, the Conference of Presidents (composed of EP President Roberta Metsola and the presidents of the political groups) will carry out the final evaluation and declare the hearings closed on 21 November. Once the Conference of Presidents declares all hearings closed, evaluation letters will be published.
The election by the full MEPs of the College of Commissioners (by majority of the votes cast, nominally) is currently scheduled for the plenary session from 25 to 28 November in Strasbourg.
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