132.Calls for the swift implementation of the energy efficiency directive and the national action plans supported by appropriate financial incentives; calls for the creation of a block exemption for all energy efficiency schemes of which the European Commission has been notified as part of the Member States’ energy efficiency action plans; believes that Member States should set out ambitious strategies in particular to renovate the existing building stock according to established common standards; stresses that financial instruments could further promote an efficiency agenda; calls on the Commission to work towards cost-efficient support criteria for renew ...[+++]able energy; stresses that a reliable, secure and affordable energy supply is essential for the competitiveness of European industry; stresses the importance of clear, long-term climate goals to enable undertakings to invest, particularly in the green industries and urges the Commission to propose a legal and stable framework of medium- and long-term action for European energy and climate policy up to 2030 so as to encourage investment in carbon reduction, energy efficiency and renewable energy;

53. Takes note of the Court of Auditors’ latest report on the cost-effectiveness of Cohesion Policy investments in EE; highlights the Court’s recommendation of using transparent and stricter selection criteria for projects at both EU and Member State level; agrees with the Court’s conclusion that assessment criteria used to make investment decisions must be clearer and more precise as regards to how EE aspects are to be considered;

10. Draws attention to the importance of the Madrid criteria (defined by the Madrid European Council of December 1995), which emphasised the ability of candidate countries to put EU rules and procedures into effect; also takes the view that the principle of strict conditionality requires that the progress of a candidate and/or potential candidate country in adopting and implementing reforms be effectively assessed on the basis of a clear set of criteria at every stage of the process, and that countries wishing to join the EU should be able to proceed from one stage to the next only once all the conditions have been met at each stage; s ...[+++]tresses that, in order to enhance the credibility and effectiveness of the enlargement strategy, the Copenhagen criteria must be fully respected and complied with by Member States as well, in order to avoid requiring applicant countries to meet higher standards than those applying in some EU Member States; stresses the importance of defining the different stages more clearly, setting transparent and fair benchmarks throughout the process that translate the general membership criteria into concrete steps towards accession, and measuring whether the necessary requirements have been met, as well as of avoiding fixing or promising an accession date if negotiations have not yet been finalised; stresses that it should also be clear that a benchmark, once attained, should be sustained and that backsliding should elicit an appropriate response on the part of those setting the benchmarks;

4. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, when purchasing a product package covered as a whole by a delegated act adopted under Directive 2010/30/EU, Member States may require that the aggregate energy efficiency shall take priority over the energy efficiency of individual products within that package, by purchasing the product package that complies with the criterion of belonging to the highest energy efficiency class.

8. Calls on the Council to desist from implementing an indiscriminate across the board percentage cut in the Preliminary Draft Budget when adopting its Draft Budget and to examine each element of the budget in turn using the criteria of efficiency, economy and European added value.

43. Believes that the Member States should play an exemplary role in applying compulsory energy efficiency measures in the public sector, inter alia by buying efficient vehicles when renewing public transport fleets and applying efficiency standards when carrying out major renovations in buildings including, for example, energy efficiency criteria in public works contracts; in this respect, welcomes the introduction of National Energy Efficiency Action Plans;