The Commission’s New Energy Policy Tools: Ex Ante Evaluation of EU Member States in National Energy and Climate Plans

Although there is almost unanimous support for the ultimate goal of developing carbon-neutral economy within the EU by 2050, many member states have shown reluctance to adopt binding goals at national level in mid-term perspective. In order to facilitate the process of decarbonisation of the EU’s economy and especially the energy sector, the European Commission proposed Governance of Energy Union regulation that included several tools facilitating member states’ implementation of strategies and measures ensuring their contribution to EU’s climate and energy targets. Most importantly, it requires member states to develop integrated ten-year National Energy and Climate Plans, first of which is supposed to detail national policies and pathways contributing to 2030 targets. After member states submitted their draft Plans at the end of 2018, the Commission evaluated these and provided recommendations to the member states based on existing benchmarks included in previously adopted rules. The paper examines in detail sector of renewables where the Commission criticized many member states for not proposing enough ambitious goals. It studies all areas of renewables where the Commission used benchmarks in its evaluations (stemming from revised Renewables Directive of 2018) and examines the development of member states’ renewables targets as presented in draft and final versions of their Plans. This paper argues that within this system, the Commission changed its evaluation of member state’s performance in energy sector from ex post to de-facto ex ante. This indicates further change of Commission’s position in energy areas where it is trying to strengthen supranational governance model.