Financiarul

2010 is a key year for the European Union member states because in the context of the mid-budget execution (2007-2013) of the structural funds utilization, they can revise their operational plans and re-allocate money for energy efficiency, stated European deputy Adriana Ticau, who took part on Tuesday in the conference “Towards energy efficient housing in the EU regions”, organized by the Committee of the Regions in the framework of the “Open doors day”.

Adriana Ticau, rapporteur of the European Parliament (EP) for the revision of the directive on energy performing buildings, said that the “regulation of the European Fund for Regional Development (EFRD) was recently modified, so that all the member states can use a 4 percent quota of the EFRD in order to boost housing energy performance.

Prior to this change only the new member states could use a 2 percent quota of EFRD in the aim to boost housing energy efficiency”.

At present the majority of the member states have used just 1-2 percent of the EFRD quotas assigned to this goal. “The local administrations and member states should use to the maximum the existing financial instruments so that, starting 2014, the European financing for the housing energy efficiency sector is increased.

This is the only way to have energy efficient housing in all the EU regions”, said the Romanian MEP.
EP proposed in its report, in the first reading, some financial and fiscal measures set to give an impetus to the member state to render the housing more energy efficient.

One important measure is focused on the significant increase, starting with the next financial programming period (2014-2020), of the EFRD quota which can be used in order to boost housing energy efficiency. EU is undergoing a process of revision of the existing directive on housing energy efficiency.

The lack of financing is one of the main barriers in the path of the adequate implementation of the current directive, from 2002, on the housing energy efficiency. The Committee of the Regions organizes over Oct. 5-8, 2009 the “Open doors day”.

More than 100 conferences, gathering 7,000 decision factors at local, regional, national and European levels, are held at the committee headquarters in Brussels. EU regions and cities are in the center of debates aimed at establishing the priorities of the cohesion policy in view of a steady regional development.