The European Commission has sent letters of formal notice to 26 member states, including Romania, for failing to communicate to the European Commission the complete transposition into national legislation of the provisions of amending Directive (EU) 2023/2413 on the promotion of energy from renewable sources, a press release from the Community Executive informs.

The states that have received letters are: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden, according to Agerpres.

Sending a letter of formal notice represents the start of the infringement procedure.

The new rules aim to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in all sectors of the economy, not only in the energy sector, but especially in those sectors where progress is more difficult, such as heating and cooling, buildings, transport and industry, where new or reinforced targets have also been set. They set out horizontal and cross-cutting measures to promote the deployment of renewable energy sources, such as strengthening guarantees of origin, facilitating the integration of the energy system by promoting electrification and renewable hydrogen, as well as guarantees to ensure more sustainable bioenergy production.

According to the EU Executive, the implementation of the legislation is essential to accelerate the deployment of indigenous clean energy, to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector, which currently accounts for over 75% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, and to strengthen energy security. It will also contribute to lowering energy prices and increasing the competitiveness of the EU economy.

Member States had to notify the transposition of the directive by 21 May 2025, with the exception of some provisions related to authorisation, which were already due by 1 July 2024.

So far, only Denmark has notified the full transposition of the directive by the legal deadline. The Commission is therefore sending letters of formal notice to 26 Member States. They now have two months to respond, complete the transposition and notify their measures to the Commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.