In his introduction, Commissioner-designate Dan Jørgensen said that energy policy is at the core of all the challenges Europe currently faces – on competitiveness, jobs, growth, security with the war in Ukraine, climate change, and social justice. He highlighted that European companies pay two to three times more for energy than their competitors in the US and China, and that 10% of Europeans are not able to heat their homes adequately during winter.
Top priority: bring down energy prices
Mr Jørgensen said that his top priority would be to bring down prices for industry and people. He advocated fully achieving energy independence from Russia, while at the same time decarbonising the energy mix. He acknowledged that many Europeans are concerned about the ongoing low-carbon transition, and proposed focusing on tackling energy poverty. He also pledged to boost the deployment of renewables via faster permitting procedures, expand energy grids, develop interconnectors, boost Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and new storage technologies as well as so-called “Power to X” solutions.
Help EU industry access cheap and clean energy
During the debate, MEPs said EU industry is under significant pressure and highlighted the challenge of complying with existing targets and regulations. Mr Jørgensen replied that more access to cheaper energy does not necessarily mean more rules, but rather the opposite. He supported substantially reducing red tape on industry, especially on permitting.
Affordable, sustainable and decent housing
On housing, the Commissioner-designate said the Commission would start working to adopt a European Affordable Housing Plan offering technical assistance to cities and member states and focus on the investment and skills needed to achieve this.
In his reply to MEPs questions about making housing cheaper, Mr Jørgensen said the plan would include a strategy for housing construction, the creation of a new platform together with the European Investment Bank to invest in the sector, more funding from the cohesion fund, and a reform of state aid rules.
Nuclear energy
Several MEPs questioned the Commissioner-designate on his stance towards nuclear energy and to what extent the Commission intends to support the technology, whether for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) or larger ones. Mr Jørgensen said that, while the EU will respect the energy mix in every country, nuclear energy will be needed to achieve the climate transition and will be part of the Commission’s clean energy plans. He however warned against increasing Europe’s dependence on the nuclear industry and fuels-related foreign supply chains, which may also be linked with Russia.
The link between energy and housing
Many MEPs asked the Commissioner-designate to address not only higher prices in both sectors, but also the impact of certain green measures on affordable housing and energy poverty.
Several MEPs pushed for additional support to energy communities and updated climate targets for 2040, while others called for the EU to tackle problems in the rental market due to the rise of short-term letting.
You can watch the video recording of the full hearing here.
The Employment and Social Affairs committee Chair Li Andersson (The Left, FI) held a press point after the hearing, you can find the recording here.
Next steps
The committees’ chairs and political group coordinators will meet without delay to assess the performance and qualification of the Commissioner-designate. Based on the committee recommendations, the Conference of Presidents (EP President Metsola and political group chairs) is set to conduct the final evaluation and declare the hearings closed on 21 November. Once the Conference of Presidents declares all hearings closed, the evaluation letters will be published.
The election by MEPs of the full college of Commissioners (by a majority of the votes cast, by roll-call) is currently scheduled to take place during the 25-28 November plenary session in Strasbourg.
Discussion about this post