Legal and Policy
How Energy Laws Work in the EU
Regulations vs. Directives
In the European Union, there are two main types of legislation: the regulations and the directives. Once a regulation is proposed by the European Commission and accepted by the European Parliament and the European Council, each member state has to incorporate it into the national legislation. In the case of the directives, there are not so strict rules for the implementation as each member state can transpose the decisions differently while following the basic proposals.
Regarding community energy and energy communities, since most of the provisions are in directives there is a “loose” framework to transpose the decisions, meaning that not every country sets the same rules, or makes use of all the proposals provided in the directives.
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For example, Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) and Citizen Energy Communities (CECs) definitions have been provided in RED, however not all the member states have accepted them as forms of energy communities, providing the legal aspect. Also, energy communities are based on cooperative principles, but this doesn’t mean that each country has to accept and include in the legislation all these principles.
In order to check exactly what has been transposed from the directives, for each country, have a look at the transposition tracker a very valuable tool from REScoop.eu.
Key legislation in the European Union
OVERVIEW
In the European Union, several key legislations impact community energy and energy communities, supporting the EU’s objectives for decarbonisation, energy security, and a more inclusive energy system. Here are the most relevant EU legislations to be aware of.