Spain believes increasing inter-connections is essential to move towards single energy market

At the request of Spain and Portugal, a specific debate was included on the status of inter-connections in the internal market and their role in the Winter Package.

As regards the draft Energy Efficiency Directive, Álvaro Nadal referred to the potential of energy efficiency in achieving the energy and climate targets. He said that this potential is not being fully harnessed and that, to do so, all the regulatory and accounting barriers that currently halt long-term investment in energy efficiency should be eliminated.

Álvaro Nadal advocated the need for the proposal not to remove incentives on adopting energy efficiency programmes and long-term investments, such as those needed in the field of building renovation in the period 2018 to 2021, a point that was supported by a significant number of Member States.

As a result of the negotiations, the common position eventually adopted at the Council - following some strong debate - allows a fairer recognition of the investments in efficiency undertaken in the period 2018-2021, which will foster new long-term investments between now and 2021.

Energy interconnections

As regards the matter of interconnections brought up by Spain and Portugal, Álvaro Nadal referred to the need to adopt urgent measures within this package to strengthen interconnections so that they are considered to be of equal importance alongside the challenge posed by energy and climate targets. He referred to the conclusions from the 2014 European Council stating that energy transition requires an increased degree of interconnection with the rest of the European Union to enable the integration of a growing level of renewable energies in the electricity system.

The Spanish minister also said that a genuine internal energy market will only be possible if there is a high degree of interconnection with neighbouring countries. Finally, he advocated the adoption of urgent and binding measures with specific and priority treatment of the projects needed to increase the degree of interconnection in countries currently below the 10% interconnection target, such as is the case in Spain.