Rapporteur Talks

As part of the European Green Deal, the EU has set itself a binding target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. In light of this, the EU is working to achieve the ambitious goal of transforming its energy sector into a system based on renewables and low-emission energy sources.

This transformation means a complete reform, not only in how energy is produced in the EU but also in how it is used by consumers. 'Nobody should be left behind' is a phrase often quoted when discussing the energy transition.

Achieving climate neutrality is a great challenge for both the European Union as a whole and individual Member States. Some industry stakeholders express views that the cost is not just economic, but also social, as energy poverty is on the rise. They also say that when designing ambitious goals, EU institutions should take into account the economic and social circumstances of different Member States as well as the current geopolitical situation.

The European energy sector is at a crossroads. Relisten to this EURACTIV Hybrid Conference to discuss its future. Discussed questions included:

- How do we ensure that the 2030 and 2050 targets can be achieved in light of the recent geopolitical developments?
- With most Europeans facing a winter of sharp price increases, how can energy poverty be addressed?
- What are the necessary technologies needed to ensure an efficient energy transformation? And at what cost?
- What has already been done to help climate change mitigation?
- What approaches are taken by different Member States to reach climate neutrality?
- What are the challenges and costs related to the energy transformation?

District heating supplies millions of homes in cities across Europe, representing about 10% of heat supply in the EU. However, most of that runs on fossil fuels, mainly natural gas and coal.

According to a study carried out by the European Commission, district heating and cooling (DHC) is one of the main infrastructures allowing decarbonisation by integrating renewable and carbon neutral energy sources and technologies, and participating in energy system integration.

Acknowledging the potential system benefits of a higher deployment of efficient DHC, the Renewable Energy Directive and its recast, the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive all include explicit and implicit provisions and implications on the future use and extension of district heating and cooling.

However, the war in Ukraine and its geopolitical implications have shifted the economic fundamentals behind the choice of fuel supplying district heating networks. Before the invasion, some eastern EU countries had made plans to switch their district heating systems to fossil gas, as this was seen as a cost-effective way of meeting the climate goals of EU’s “Fit for 55”. But with the sharp increases in gas prices, these plans are being re-evaluated.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to find out about the future of district heating in the European Union, in light of the war in Ukraine. How can the EU ensure that the ongoing recast of relevant regulatory frameworks introduces realistic targets for the decarbonisation of district heating? And how much time and investment do industry stakeholders need to adapt to the new geopolitical realities?

The Data Act, presented in 2022, is a legislative proposal that intends to complement the Commission’s data strategy. The proposed law aims to regulate access conditions for data produced by the Internet of Things (IoT) devices, requiring manufacturers to provide access and introducing the right for device users to access and port their data. Furthermore, it lays down the right to share data with third parties. Overall, the proposal defines who can use what data and under what conditions.

Unlocking industrial data is a great challenge for the EU as 80% of it remains unused. With this new legislative proposal, the Commission wants to unlock the potential data-sharing offers to businesses, consumers or public services and boost innovation by using the potential of data as a non-rival good.

However, there are not only opportunities, but also risks associated with the Data Act as proposed by the European Commission. In particular for manufacturing SMEs, the mandatory data sharing might have also negative impacts, for example by exposing trade secrets, creating too many obligations for product design and undermining data-based business models.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to find out how to ensure fair and balanced rules for data-sharing in the framework of the EU Data Act.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the global energy market disruption has caused a sharp increase in EU energy prices. This is seen in European countries that were particularly reliant on Russian gas supply for residential heating and industrial production.

In the run-up to winter, the European Commission is working on its newly released REPowerEU strategy. While Member States plan for a shortfall in gas during the colder months, the industrial sector is already reviewing which supplies will be available throughout the coming winter.

Industrial processes requiring fossil gas, especially for heating and cooling, could experience increasing supply issues as provision of gas to the power sector or private households is prioritised. According to new data gathered by the energy and climate consultancy “Climact”, there is potential for reducing fossil gas consumption in many industrial processes, such as low and medium heat provision.

The study shows that European industry has the possibility to cut its natural gas demand by 25% with short-term opportunities of electrifying certain gas processes and long-term measures. Climact estimates that the overall gas demand can be reduced by electrifying many of the current processes. The research sees potential for sectors such as food and drink, glass manufacturing and chemicals to evolve by electrifying the majority of their processes and a move beyond fossil gas.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to find out how some industry sectors can move from fossil gas to electrification. How long would it take, and at what cost? How can such a change be incentivised? What would the cost benefits be? And how would the demand for the power needed to supply this large scale electrification be met?

A EURACTIV event organised with the support of the European Climate Foundation, who cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained or expressed therein.

In a healthy and thriving democracy, citizens should be able to freely express their views, choose their political leaders, and have a say about their future. Democracy in the EU faces challenges from rising extremism, election interference, the spread of manipulative information, and threats against journalists. The European Democracy Action Plan is designed to empower citizens and build more resilient democracies across the EU by promoting free and fair elections, strengthening media freedom, and countering disinformation.

When presenting the plan in December 2020, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “With the digital revolution under way, citizens must be able to make choices where views can be expressed freely. Facts have to be distinguished from fiction, and free media and civil society must be able to participate in an open debate, free from malign interference. Therefore the EU is taking action to make our democracies in the EU more resilient.”

These measures will be implemented throughout this Commission’s mandate. In 2023, a year ahead of the next European elections, the Commission will review the implementation of the action plan.

Technology is widely perceived as having both positive and negative impacts on democracy. Technology has the power to protect and promote democratic institutions and values rather than undermine them. For technology companies to have a positive impact, industry must reflect on its roles and obligations to democratic societies above and beyond the letter of the law.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Hybrid Conference to find out about the direction of European democracy and the role for tech and the private sector in preserving and advancing democratic norms.

-How can the tech industry and the private sector best align with the European agenda to counter disinformation and empower citizens to make informed decisions?
-What more does the private sector need to do proactively to achieve the aims of the EDAP?
-What new obligations should and will exist as a result of the EDAP?

Two years into the European Commission’s Digital Decade, the EU’s vision of pursuing a human-centric, sustainable vision for a digital society, the connectivity target of “Gigabit for everyone, 5G everywhere” has never felt more urgent. Mobile networks are vital to economic recovery and future crisis resilience and can support a green and digital transformation across Europe. As economies and societies around the world digitalise, the acceleration of 5G in Europe is essential to maintain and amplify Europe’s industrial and manufacturing strengths.

Industry stakeholders claim that the current regulatory environment is creating an investment gap, stifling innovation, and that market conditions in Europe mean investment capital for telecom operators is hard to come by. As a result, they say that over the past decade, Europe has invested 40% less per capita in its telecom networks than the US. The industry also argues that regulatory interventions and resistance to consolidation artificially distort competition, leading to poorer service and outcomes for consumers and businesses.

The right conditions for private infrastructure investment, network modernisation, and digital innovation are needed for accelerating Europe’s digital future. A financially sustainable mobile sector is key to the delivery of innovative services and the deployment of new networks. 5G has the potential to deliver a significant amount of value to the region if the mobile sector and policymakers find the right regulatory balance.

Relisten to this EURACTIV event to find out where the EU is on 5G development and how Europe’s digital competitiveness compares to other regions. Addressed questions included:

- How can policymakers ensure that national and EU level regulations are in line with the Digital Decade targets?
- What policies could drive economic growth and social welfare when it comes to 5G connectivity in Europe?
- How can the upcoming Connectivity Infrastructure Act facilitate full 5G coverage in the EU?

First announced by President von der Leyen in her State of the Union Address in September 2021, the European Commission is expected to unveil, in September 2022, a Cyber Resilience Act that aims to establish common cybersecurity rules for digital products and associated services such as software that are placed on the European single market.

Although Internet of Things (IoT) products create a wide range of opportunities by connecting people, information, and places, they also increase the risk of cybersecurity incidents affecting entire systems. Indeed, the infinite number of heterogeneous digital connected products, each with their own vulnerabilities, expand the potential attack surface and leave users open to theft of sensitive data and malfunctioning networks, if not worse, as large scale cyberattacks on European critical infrastructure has shown in the past months.

Under a common legal framework requiring digital products to be designed and operated more securely, with duty of care at the heart of their development, the aim is to enhance the security of the entire cyber ecosystem, from consumer to critical industrial infrastructures, while strengthening the functioning of the internal market.

However, « a common approach » remains difficult to define as stakeholders are opposed to the definition of a one-size-fits-all solution that will not achieve the objectives of the text. How can the risk associated with a device be categorised, especially when it is used in contexts as various as home or public entities, and sometimes, used in unforeseen ways? To what extent should the cybersecurity of these devices be assessed? Who should carry out the assessment in order to achieve the highest security level? And how can all stakeholders participate in the reinforcement of the secure cyber framework worldwide?

Relisten to this EURACTIV Hybrid Conference to explore the different options to reinforce the cybersecurity of connected devices and discuss how we can ensure that all digital products are safe and secure in a way that protects end-users, industry, and public entities.

In July, the European Commission tabled a proposal for the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII), with the overall objective of achieving an increase in the use of energy from renewable sources by 2030, to foster better energy system integration and to contribute to climate and environmental objectives. The proposal sets a framework for the deployment of renewable energy sources across all sectors of the economy with a particular focus on sectors where progress has been slow. Among those sectors is transport.

In the context of transport, advanced biofuels have been identified in the REDII as one of the key solutions for the deployment of renewable energy sources as their role can be increased to support the reduction of emissions in all transport modes, from road to maritime and aviation.

According to the biofuels industry, to achieve these goals ambitious mandates are needed to trigger investments in production installations. Regulation is also considered important, as it can play a critical role in creating the appropriate framework conditions for investments. For them, the recent discussion on raising Europe’s energy security underlines the importance of having non-fossil energy production in our own hands.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Hybrid Conference to learn about the role of low-carbon liquid fuels and especially advanced biofuels in the energy transition. Discussed questions included:

- How can the EU’s energy independence be increased at affordable prices while reducing fossil consumption and at the same time accelerating climate change mitigation efforts? How can this be done especially in the transport sector?
- How can the sustainable potential of domestic feedstock for advanced biofuels be increased?
- How can sustainability be ensured at every step of the value chain?
- What kind of regulatory framework is needed to boost green growth investments?

Citizens’ participation remains a great challenge to democracies across Europe, especially given the rise of populism and voter disillusionment in recent years. Hence, many cities have developed new tools to boost citizen engagement, such as 'participatory budgeting'.

Participatory budgeting aims to involve citizens in decision-making around the uses of municipal budgets. It is a process whereby local authorities give residents the opportunity to voice their opinions and propose ideas about the allocation of funds within their cities. The tool aims to bring democracy closer to citizens, helping them become actors of change.

However, critics argue that although participatory budgeting across Europe has boosted civic engagement, it has not yet brought much diversity nor a wider range of views to the pool of participants. A major challenge lies in ensuring maximum inclusivity and encouraging all citizens to engage in local political processes.

In the context of the H2020 project DEMOTEC, relisten to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to learn about the opportunities and challenges participatory budgeting offers to strengthen democracy in European cities. Discussed questions included:

- Can projects like DEMOTEC make a material difference in encouraging citizen participation?
- How to help local authorities develop participatory budgeting?
- How can the pool of participants be expanded so that a wide range of views is represented?
- What can be done on a European level to support these local initiatives?

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement no 962553.

This website reflects only the author’s view and the Research Executive Agency or European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to new geopolitical and energy market realities. It required the EU to dramatically accelerate its clean energy transition while also looking for solutions to increase its energy independence.

In response to these hardships, the European Commission presented the REPowerEU Plan. The plan aims to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels, fast forward the green transition, and increase the resilience of the EU-wide energy system. The watchwords are diversifying, saving, and accelerating clean energy

Relisten to this EURACTIV Hybrid Conference where stakeholders discussed the policy tools that can strengthen EU security of supply. Addressed questions included:

- How can gas supplies be secured in the most efficient and sustainable way, while at the same time ensuring the protection of EU citizens and industries? Is a holistic approach achievable?
- What is the role of gas infrastructure? Can gas infrastructure operators connect Europe to the global market?
- What solutions exist to transport and store renewables and low-carbon molecules over long distances with the existing and future LNG, underground storage and transmission facilities?