Economy
EU must turn a blind eye to Hungary "hijacking" energy efficiency funds
Q&A
Hungary’s Environmental and Energy Efficiency Operational Programme (EEEOP), which was accepted by the Commission in February 2015, clearly states the need for energy efficiency grants for both publicly and privately owned buildings.Yet, János Lázár, the Prime Minister’s cabinet chief, has fastidiously maintained for the past three months that the EU funds (some EUR 38 million) earmarked for environmental and energy efficiency were never intended for distribution to private households but rather for public institutional use.
MEP Benedek Jávor asked a few questions regarding the EEEOP and its targets in November last year and received answers from Commissioner Cretu on 26 January.
Question: Has the Commission received an official request to modify Hungary’s EEEOP in order to use the funds exclusively for retrofitting public buildings and if so, is it possible to make such a modification?
Answer: The environmental and energy efficiency programme explicitely envisages to support energy efficiency rehabilitation of residential buildings and even entails corresponding output target, with above 50 000 households expected to benefit from such measures.
Question: Would there be any consequences at the European level if the EU funds were used exclusively for retrofitting public buildings without a prior modification request, as described above?
Answer: The indicative allocation for the measure amounts for EUR 37.7 million, corresponding to a target of over 50 000 households.
Question: Are there any criteria concerning the timing of the use of the funds? Would the Commission find it acceptable if Hungary only accessed the funds available for improving the private building stock at the very end of the budget cycle, and only launched programmes targeting public buildings until then?
Answer: The Commission has not received any request for modification of Hungary’s environment and energy efficiency programme. Would it receive such modification, it would be evaluated with regard to the accompanying justification and motivation, considering in particular the ability to meet the commitments taken in the partnership agreement and underlying obligations under energy efficiency policy framework.
No legal tool in EU hands
The Commission has no legal tool to impose to Member States to implement all measures included in the programmes at a given moment, neither to impose a specific timetable for launching the measures
, Cretu said.She added, however, that “specific output targets are assigned to energy efficiency measures for residential buildings, with over 50 000 households targeted by 2023. The progress achieved in implementing the adopted programmes and reaching the assigned objectives, including with regard to the performance framework will be regularly assessed by the Commission, but also by the monitoring committee, falling under its overseeing role."
Cretu also noted that “possible implementation delays could negatively impact the ability to reach these targets and corrective mesures could then be promoted as far as needed."
