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Welcomes the Commission communication of February 2016 on an EU strategy on heating and cooling, but highlights the lack of progress and low targets set for renewable use in heating and cooling, in particular in buildings; stresses the great potential for continued progress in renewable use in heating and cooling; notes that the heating and cooling sector accounts for half the EU’s final energy consumption and therefore plays a key role in achieving the EU objectives on climate and renewable energy resources; recognises the benefits of increasing renewable energy in the heating and cooling sector; stresses the increased flexibility o ...[+++]f thermal infrastructure and storage in facilitating the integration of variable renewable sources by storing energy in the form of heat, offering excellent returns on investment and providing opportunities for enhancing quality local employment; calls on the Commission to bridge the regulatory gaps in the post-2020 renewables legislative package; reiterates that efforts in the heating and cooling sector hold great potential for increased energy security (given that 61 % of gas imported into the European Union is used in buildings, mainly for heating purposes), for example through the development of district heating/cooling networks, which are an efficient means of integrating sustainable heat into cities on a large scale, since they can simultaneously deliver heat derived from a range of sources and are not inherently dependent on any one source.

Here in the Council we heeded and took on the arguments and views of Parliament, albeit with great difficulty, through negotiations right up until the final day, the final negotiations relating to this point ended practically on the morning before the Council of Ministers, and we were also able in the Council of Ministers to persuade ministers to adopt the kind of rules desired by Parliament, even though this will involve a significant increase in work and also in investment of finances that individual Member States will provide.