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The European Commission (EC) recommends Romania to increase, until at least 34 percent, the target regarding the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy representing Romania's contribution to the achievement of the Union's objectives in the horizon of 2030, the European Commission assessment report on the project of the integrated national energy and climate change plan (NECP) published Tuesday by the executive Community.
Through the Integrated National Energy and Climate Change Plan, the national target proposed by Romania for 2030 for renewable energy is 27.9 percent.
In this context, the executive community recommends Romania to come up with detailed and quantifiable policies and measures that are in line with Directive (EU) No.2018/2001 to enable this contribution to be timely and effectively delivered.
Moreover, the EC recommend to authorities in Bucharest to provide additional details regarding the concrete measures to ensure the sustainability of biomass supply and its use in the energy sector, taking into account the important contribution of biomass to Romania's energy mix, especially in heating and cooling.
Another recommendation from the European Commission is that Romania significantly increases the ambition to reduce primary and final energy consumption by 2030, taking into account the need to increase efforts to achieve the energy efficiency target. In this respect, Romania needs to propose more ambitious policies and measures in view of allowing extra energy savings.
Regarding the natural gas sector, the European Commission recommends Romania to specify the measures to support energy security objectives in the areas of diversification and reduction of energy dependency, especially measures to ensure flexibility and a robust diversification strategy, including relevant infrastructure projects and the elimination of excessive restrictions on investment in gas production, taking into account the regional potential of the Black Sea reserves, the EC mentions.
In the report signed by Commissioner for Climate and Energy Policy Miguel Arias Canete, it is also recommended that Romania sets out long-term objectives and targets on market integration, especially measures in order to develop wholesale and retail liquid and competitive markets, both by increasing intra-country competition and by removing barriers to cross-border trade, including export restrictions.
It is also recommended that Romania assess the negative impact of wholesale price regulation and provide a clear perspective to ensure compliance between the national legislation and the Community legislation on open and liberalized markets and free price formation, by including a strategy and a calendar for the developments of prices that are entirely based on the market, including targeted measures to protect vulnerable consumers.
The EU member states had the obligation to present their own NECP projects by the end of 2018, with the documents being afterwards subjected to an in-depth assessment of the Commission. The regulation provides that, if the NECP projects do not contribute sufficiently to achieving the objectives of the energy union (individually and / or collectively), the Commission may address recommendations to the member states by the end of June 2019, recommendations regarding the amendments of the draft plans. The member states must submit final NECPs for the period 2021-2030 by the end of 2019.
In April of this year, Vice-President of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) Zoltan Nagy-Bege, said that Romania's target in terms of renewable energy for 2030 is 27.9 percent, adding that it hopes the EU executive to accept a target below the average level of Europe. "Our number one priority, as a country, is to complete the Integrated National Energy-Climate Change Plan (PNIESC) and negotiate with the European Commission that target for RES (renewable energy sources), which we assume and we intend to achieve by 2030, namely of 27.9 percent. It is very hard to believe that this will be the final figure given the potential of Romania We have already exceeded the target of 26 percent We propose only two extra percentages so that the European Commission accepts a target well below the average of Europe, taking into account that so far, we have been above the average," Zoltan Nagy-Bege stated.
