The Council has today reached a political agreement with the European Parliament on the Energy Labelling Directive and on the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. And so negotiations on the Energy Efficiency Package have concluded. The package also included a regulation on energy labelling of tyres.

“I am very pleased that the Swedish Presidency today has reached an agreement with the European Parliament on these two directives. Buildings account for 40 % of Europe’s energy use and are therefore an important piece of the puzzle to reduce the EU’s impact on the climate,” says Minister for Enterprise and Energy Maud Olofsson.

The Energy Labelling Directive is intended to increase consumer awareness of the energy performance of various appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, household ovens and washing machines. These appliances will be labelled according to a scale informing consumers about how much energy the product consumes. The agreement also means that industrial products and products affecting energy consumption, such as hot water taps and showerheads, will also be included in the Directive.

The revised legislation on the Energy Performance of Buildings includes the requirement that by 2020 all new buildings must be low-energy buildings and demands for increased efficiency must be made on all major renovations of already existing buildings.

“This is an important signal to send ahead of negotiations in Copenhagen: that the EU can move from words into action on the issue of climate change measures. I would particularly like to thank the rapporteur who contributed to a quick and ambitious agreement”, concludes Minister for Enterprise and Energy Maud Olofsson.