Renewable energy: Italy and Spain called upon to comply with EU renewable energy rules

The Commission has formally requested Italy and Spain to take action and ensure full compliance with EU rules on renewable energy. The Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to these countries for not informing the Commission about the full transposition of the Renewables Directive (Directive 2009/28/EC).The law had to be implemented by Member States by 5 December 2010.

Italy and Spain have not informed the Commission of all the necessary transposition measures for fully transposing the Directive into their national legislation. If the two Member States do not comply with their legal obligation within two months, the Commission may decide to refer them to the Court of Justice.

According to the Directive, every Member State has to reach individual targets for the overall share of renewable energy in energy consumption. For reaching these targets, Member States have to lay down rules, for example, for improving the grid access for electricity from renewable energy, the administrative and planning procedures, information and training of installers. In addition, where biofuels are used to achieve the transport target, these must meet a set of sustainability requirements, which also need to be included in national legislation.