Letter to the member of the EU Parliament on the Energy Efficiency Directive

The current accounting treatment for public energy efficiency investments, recently outlined by Eurostat (07/08/15), established a major burden to the necessary roll-out of energy performance contracting, which is important to mobilise the required level of investments to reach the EU 2020 target on energy efficiency. The letter in attachment points out that there is a contradiction between the current EED implementation (including the exemplary role of public authorities), where your Committee will soon vote upon, and at the other hand the impossibility to raise the debt level on the public balance sheet.

We urge you to take into consideration the tabled amendment 325, paragraph 21 b (new), which addresses the issue as it “stresses the need to reform the Eurostat rules of public debt and deficit, which still classify energy efficiency investments by private third parties (energy performance contracting) as public debt in the account balance of local authorities“. (Amendment by Benedek Jávor, on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group to MEP Markus Pieper draft report on the implementation of the EED).

The letter in attachment is sent on behalf of our President Tine Heyse (Deputy Mayor of the City of Ghent, BE) and the President Julije Domac of Fedarene (Director of North-West Croatia Energy Agency). It initiates constructive steps forward and elaborates on the arguments why a reinterpretation of the accounting rules for energy efficiency investments is necessary to tap into its full potential to deliver multiple net economic benefits and stimulate local jobs and growth.