The Commission presented the REPowerEU Plan in response to the disruption of the global energy market following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the fight against climate crisis.
According to the Commission, there is an urgent need to transform the European energy system in order to rapidly end the Union's dependence on fossil fuels from Russia and to adapt to climate-related challenges.
To achieve these objectives, REPowerEU focuses on three pillars : (i) firstly, the achievement of energy savings, notably by raising the binding energy efficiency target under the European Green Deal and by encouraging Member States to put in place fiscal measures and communication campaigns, (ii) secondly, the diversification of energy supplies and the support of the Union's international partners with the possibility of setting up a joint purchasing mechanism and (iii) finally, the acceleration of the deployment of renewable energies (solar, heat pumps, biomethane, etc.) and renewable hydrogen in order to replace the current fossil fuels in industry, housing, electricity production and transport.
As proposed by the Commission, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) Regulation should be adapted to integrate specific REPowerEU measures into Member States recovery and resilience plans. In line with this, the Commission adopted on 31 May a Communication aiming at guiding these plans in the framework of REPowerEU.
To support the implementation of this new Plan, funds in the form of loans under the RRF are already available. The Commission also proposes to increase the financial envelope of the RRF in the form of grants from the sale of allowances under the EU Emission Trading System. A transfer from cohesion funds and the Common Agricultural Policy could also be made.