The conference “Energy Poverty in South East Europe” was held today at the European Parliament in Bruxelles. Sixty participants from institutions and organizations dealing with energy and social issues (members of the EU Parliament, scientists, energy poverty experts and representatives of civil society) gathered together for the conference.
It is estimated that in Southeast European countries more than 30 % of households struggle with energy poverty. Regional differences also play a significant role in the characteristics of energy poverty. The introductory speeches brought the specifics of SEE energy poverty to attention. MEP Davor Škrlec emphasized: “Energy poverty is an important topic in all EU member states. During the past three months the European Parliament has adopted two resolutions through which member states and the European Commission were called to agree upon the definition of energy poverty and to start solving the issue of energy poverty via amendments of the Energy Efficiency Directive, the Renewable Energy Directive, and through implementation of the Energy Union Action Plan in a sustainable manner.”
The panel debate was focused on presenting, commenting on and gathering different opinions about proposed policy recommendations. Stefan Bouzarovski, Ph.D. of the University of Manchester indicated that “Solving the energy poverty problem in Southeast Europe requires, first and foremost, comprehensive reconstruction of residential buildings and improvements in the field of energy efficiency. “
It was concluded that, in order to effectively deal with the issue of energy poverty, the cooperation of all key stakeholders is essential.
The conference was hosted by MEP Davor Škrlec and REACH project partners.
Conference documents:
Presentation “REACH-introduction” – Lidija Živčić, Focus