Commissioner Simson to discuss prolongation of emergency measures with Ministers at Energy Council tomorrow

Tomorrow, 19 December, Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, will represent the Commission at the final Energy Council of the year. The EU's Energy Ministers will seek political agreement on the Commission's proposal to prolong by 12 months a set of emergency energy measures introduced last year to tackle the energy crisis. The measures include the so-called Solidarity Regulation, which contains provisions on LNG market transparency and default rules for solidarity in case of shortages, the Market Correction Mechanism, and the emergency rules related to the acceleration of permitting for renewable energy projects.

Commissioner Simson will provide Ministers with information about how the EU is prepared for the 2023/2024 winter, including with Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galushchenko participating via videconference, and about recent developments in external energy relations. She will also underscore the urgent need to implement the revised Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive for the EU to make sure that citizens reap the benefits of the clean energy transition. The Commissioner will also present to the Ministers the Commission's assessment of the draft updated National Energy and Climate Plans, calling for more ambition for the EU to collectively reach its 2030 energy and climate targets and climate neutrality by 2050.

In the margins of the Energy Council, the Commissioner will also participate in a series of side events about key green transition initiatives either spearheaded or supported by the Commission, including on energy efficiency financing, wind power, and energy infrastructure in the Baltics and South-Western Europe.

A press conference with Commissioner Simson and Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, will take place at the end of the meeting and can be followed here. Doorsteps will also be broadcast live via Ebs.