Von der Leyen steps up the fight against red tape as outdated infrastructure and national barriers threaten Europe’s push for a fully integrated energy market.
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The European Commission is stepping up its fight against
overregulation and bureaucracy, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told
MEPs in Strasbourg, signalling a new phase in Brussels’ drive to simplify EU
rules and cut administrative burdens.
Together with European Council President António Costa, von
der Leyen reviewed the progress made at the latest European Council meeting,
setting the tone for the issues expected to dominate an extraordinary summit in
Brussels on 25–26 November. In the accreditation invitation sent to
correspondents, including representatives of 3e news, the gathering was
described as a special European Council meeting.
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No programme or agenda has yet been published. However, von
der Leyen’s remarks suggest that EU leaders will tackle several pressing
issues: the multiannual financial framework, Ukraine, migration,
competitiveness, energy and soaring raw material prices.
On energy, Costa stressed that Europe remains heavily
dependent on imports of energy commodities — a situation that will not change
until the bloc can meet more of its needs from its own resources. Progress is
being made, but far too slowly. As an example, he pointed out that the EU
already has 80 GW of wind and solar capacity, with a further 80 GW awaiting
permits.
Von der Leyen added that, to speed up the process, the
Commission would adopt what she called an anti-overregulation pact.
Under the proposed approach, legislation adopted at EU level should not be held
up when it comes to implementation at national level.
A second measure Brussels hopes will unclog the bureaucratic
system is the so-called “once-only” principle: businesses would submit
their data just once, rather than having to provide the same information
separately in every country where they operate.
“Now that we have artificial intelligence, administrations
must ensure that data is used efficiently,” von der Leyen said.
The changes outlined by the Commission President form part
of the EU Inc. initiative, which aims to reduce administrative barriers
for small and medium-sized enterprises. The package was unveiled early last
year at the annual gathering of the political and business elite in Davos.
Among its most ambitious proposals is a system allowing
entrepreneurs and innovative companies to register a business in any EU member
state within 48 hours, entirely online. The aim is to bypass the complexity
created by differences between national legal systems.
Von der Leyen’s remarks also underscored the need for
greater coordination in the energy sector, particularly when it comes to
electricity grids. In this context, the Commission is considering proposing a
new plan for an Energy Union, as part of a broader push to reduce
dependence on external suppliers of energy commodities.
Europe must make better use of all the energy capacity
available to it. That means removing unnecessary barriers and bottlenecks
between member states’ national grids.
The Commission expects that, once these measures are
implemented alongside those already introduced under the EU Inc. initiative,
simplified administrative procedures could save businesses €22 billion in
unnecessary costs associated with additional fees and licensing requirements.
Grid development — one of von der Leyen’s key priorities —
has also been a longstanding focus for Bulgarian MEP Tsvetelina Penkova. She
has put forward concrete proposals to improve connectivity across Central and
Eastern Europe, arguing since 2023 that piecemeal solutions will not work and
that a coordinated approach is essential to building a fully integrated market.
That ambition will require billions of euros in investment
under the next multiannual financial framework.
The UK recently warned that every delay in building
electricity transmission lines leads to billions
in additional costs. Europe has 11 million kilometres of electricity grids,
but much of this infrastructure was built for a different energy era. Around
40% of the EU’s distribution grids are more than 40 years old.
At the same time, electricity demand is expected to rise
sharply as electric vehicles, heat pumps, data centres, hydrogen production and
industrial electrification expand.
Statements by EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra
indicate that €1.2 trillion in investment will be needed by 2040. The
first steps towards reform have already been taken, with policymakers looking
for ways to expand grid capacity and streamline permitting procedures.
Apostol Apostolov, 3Enews correspondent in the BeNeLux region