State of the Energy Union: The Commission Publishes the 2024 Energy Union Report Highlighting Progress and New Challenges in the EU-27 Simson: "We have made impressive progress over the past five years, but the next five will be truly critical for our energy transition."
State of the Energy Union 2024: Where Do We Stand?
How is the European Union’s energy transition progressing? How committed are the Member States? How effective is cooperation and coordination within the EU-27? These are some of the questions answered by the State of the Energy Union Report 2024, a comprehensive snapshot of the actions taken and the progress made in the energy sector.
The report was presented this morning in Brussels, providing an overview of how the Bloc has handled the unprecedented challenges of recent years, from post-Covid recovery efforts to the effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Progress of the Energy Union
According to Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy, the State of the Energy Union Report 2024 “is truly a testament to the deep overhaul of EU energy policy we’ve achieved over the past five years.” During these years, the EU has raised all its major energy and climate targets. Renewable energy sources have gradually increased their share in electricity generation, reaching 50% in the first half of 2024. Meanwhile, Russian natural gas imports have been drastically reduced to 15%, down from 45% in 2021. These years have also seen the EU-27 unite to confront a devastating energy crisis.
As highlighted in the report, the timely and coordinated action by Member States, the EU, and citizens helped avoid the worst effects of the crisis. Energy savings, supply diversification, and new measures to address structural weaknesses in the EU have been pivotal.
New Challenges for the Energy Union
“We have made remarkable progress in the last five years, but the next five will be crucial for our transition to clean energy, meeting the Paris Agreement commitments, ensuring the prosperity of our citizens, and maintaining the competitiveness of our industry,” Simson explained.
Today, the Union faces new and critical challenges, including a gap in ambition concerning energy efficiency targets, rising energy poverty, energy price differentials with global competitors, and the risk of new strategic dependencies. Addressing these issues will require a shift in both EU and national approaches, with stronger coordination, market integration, and joint actions.
Missing NECPs
“To start, we must focus on implementation and complete what we’ve begun,” said the Estonian official.
At the top of the list are the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). To date, only ten countries, including Italy, have submitted their final texts, with the deadline already over two months past. “These plans are essential to turn commitments into action and provide certainty to investors,” stressed Simson, urging lagging countries to act quickly.
REPowerEU Plan: More Renewables to Lower Prices
Another area where significant work remains is the REPowerEU Plan. “Energy prices are still too high, as noted by the Letta and Draghi reports,” Simson added. “These prices weigh on our citizens and energy-intensive industries, impacting Europe’s international competitiveness, especially against China and the United States. We have done a lot in this mandate to reduce prices from the 2022 peak, but now we must tackle the structural issues. I believe the main path forward is to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy.”
Energy Infrastructure
Moreover, the EU urgently needs to boost energy infrastructure development and networks, particularly to support electrification. “This area requires substantial additional investment, as highlighted by the Draghi report, and is key to market integration and renewable energy deployment.”
