The European Parliament agrees that the cutbacks to renewable energies in Spain require further analysis

The Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament has decided today, Thursday 20th March, to maintain open a citizens’ petition drafted by Holtrop S.L.P. as volunteer lawyers of the Plataforma por un Nuevo Modelo Energético (“Platform for a New Energy Model”).

This petition was developed on a mutually agreed basis with APPA, UNEF, Protermosolar, ANPIER and several other associations, and sent separately to the Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament on our part and UNEF. 

The content of this petition is related to four complaints that Holtrop S.L.P. has developed on behalf of the Platform. The first of them deals with early cutbacks to renewable energies in Spain. The second is against the 7% electricity tax, it is already in an advanced phase and it has received considerable coverage in the press during this week. The third is about the right to an effective remedy while the forth concerns competition law and internal market. 

José Donoso, UNEF Director General, and Piet Holtrop, made an intervention this morning during the discussion of the citizens’ petition in the European Parliament.

You can see the interventions here:

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCZcqIM6rlQ[/embed]

The petitioners requested the European Parliament to monitor closely the actions of the European Commission in order to avoid that Member States may breach European Law by means of a retrospective reduction of the remuneration to renewable energies.  Also they specifically asked for a follow-up of the Spanish case, being Spain the leading Member State regarding cutbacks to renewables and barriers to the development of self-consumption and energy efficiency.

The Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament has deemed that the citizens’ petition must not be closed and it has to be sent to the Environment Committee of the European Parliament for further examination since it is not clear whether the measures adopted by Spain against renewable energies are consistent with EU Law.

During the next months we will file a complaint about the regulation on self-consumption and energy efficiency and another one against the new reform of the electricity sector, which changes the remuneration system for the already existing renewable installations.