The European Parliament has approved its position on the Green Houses Directive, which increases the environmental requirements for buildings to be renovated on the one hand, and adds a series of exemptions on the other, in response to fears and doubts on many fronts. The text of the plenary session, which will now have to be moved to the Trilogue (negotiations with the European Council under the mediation of the Commission), was adopted with 343 votes in favor, 216 against and 78 abstentions.
Against the three parties that make up the majority of the government led by Giorgia Meloni: Brothers of Italy, Lega and Forza Italia. For Carroccio, this is an “attack on Italian homes”, a measure “wrong in value and method”, a “secret euro property” sought by a “majority blinded by green ideology”. Instead, the Pd, through Brando Benifei, head of the delegation in Strasbourg, defines it as a “balanced” text, with “sufficient flexibility and protected buildings or historical and architectural value for Member States”.
The “Energy Performance of Buildings Directive” is actually a revision of an existing Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings, which aims to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption in the sector by 2030. more inefficient buildings that frighten many Italians, who are afraid to spend large sums to bring their properties up to standard.
According to the text approved by the Strasbourg General Assembly, all new buildings must be emission-free from 2028, while from 2026 buildings used, managed or owned by public authorities must be emission-free. Again according to the Parliament’s position, existing residential buildings, hence Buildings that are already existing and therefore likely to be renovated, should reach energy performance class E (Commission F recommended) by at least 2030 and D (Commission E recommended) by 2033. For non-residential and public buildings, the success of the same classes will have to happen a little earlier: 2027 (E) and 2030 (D) respectively.
According to the proposal, measures to improve energy performance (for example, in the form of insulation works or renovation of the heating system) should be undertaken when a new tenant enters or the property is sold or renovated. This means that any home you live in with your family will not be required to renovate, just the home that will be put up for sale, rented or otherwise already renovated for other reasons. But the exceptions provided by the text are numerous.
First of all, member states will also have the right to exclude protected buildings, technical buildings, churches and places of worship because of their special architectural or historical value. In this way, Italy will be able to preserve its historic buildings, which, although energy-inefficient, are still part of our nation’s architectural heritage. Governments will be able to extend the exemptions to public housing if the renovations lead to higher rents than any savings on energy bills.
In addition, all houses used for holidays only will be exempt, provided that the proposal states that the directive should not be for flats “intended to be used for less than four months a year” or in any case for a period of the year such as: It includes 25% less energy consumption than from year-round use. Finally, according to the text, Member States should be allowed to set new targets for a limited percentage of buildings according to the economic and technical feasibility of renovations and the availability of skilled workforce. In short, exceptions will be envisaged if the costs are too high.
The directive provides for the subsequent restructuring, or in any case a part of it, to be supported by public money. To do this, it does not provide for the allocation of new European funds, but the text approved in Strasbourg requests that the 110 billion EU funds already allocated can be redirected to help support restructuring costs, especially for less affluent families. . Rosa D. Amato, Member of the European Parliament, said, “We need to start with the buildings that consume the most energy, where people generally live in energy shortages and cannot pay their bills at the end of the month,” for the Greens. 5 million families who have to deal with consumption and costly houses”. most vulnerable”.
Source: Today IT
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
