European Commission to submit Jumbo Energy Package by end of 2016

The European Commission will submit a big package consisting of three groups of legislative proposals for energy sector -- the so-called Jumbo Package -- by the end of this year, a senior official said Tuesday.

European Commission Vice-president for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic confirmed the plan at the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) in Bratislava.

"One of them is focused on enhancing the energy efficiency of buildings and a new financial instrument to go with it. The working title of the instrument is 'intelligent financing for intelligent buildings'," explained Sefcovic.

The second one concerns ecological design and allows for reductions in the energy intensity of electric appliances. The last subpackage is related to measures connected to a new design of the European market with electricity and to the new directive on renewable resources.

"We'd like to advise individual countries to begin working on national energy and climate plans in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and the legislative framework proposed by the European Commission," said Sefcovic.

"I firmly believe that we will succeed in presenting 90 percent of what we've promised by the end of the year," said Sefcovic, adding that so far they have submitted proposals concerning a reform of the trade in emission permits, a proposal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in sectors such transport, agriculture and via the energy efficiency of buildings.

"We've all agreed in Paris that we, or rather our children and grandchildren, will live in a carbon-neutral economy after 2050. That means that we will be able to neutralise as many emissions as we produce," said Sefcovic. Endit