Welcomes the positive impact that certification schemes or saving obligations (Article 7) are having in many Member States; considers the option of choosing alternative measures of equivalent ambition to be a major factor in guaranteeing their acceptance; notes the importance of ensuring that certified savings correspond to real-life energy savings and are not just savings on paper; highlights the role of energy utilities in developing energy efficiency measures actively; calls for the calculation of certification schemes and energy-saving measures not to be hampered; calls on the Commission to assess whether it is possible to take ...[+++]into consideration primary energy savings through embedded cogeneration plants (Combined Heat and Power (CHP)).

Notes that, in order to guarantee supply security, the development of RES with variable feed-in will necessitate a flexible balancing of fluctuations and a flexible back-up through an integrated and interconnected European electricity grid that allows cross-border trading, demand response systems, energy storage and flexible power plants; calls on the Commission to assess whether there is a capacity issue in the EU and to determine the amount of firm capacity that can be provided by variable RES in an integrated EU power system, as well as its potential impact on generation adequacy; agrees with Commission’s analysis that the developme ...[+++]nt of reserve capacity mechanisms entails substantial costs and may distort price signals; notes that there is an increasing need for a stable policy framework to provide economic guarantees concerning the availability of these reserves as well as for system and balancing services; rejects the concept of competition for subsidies between energy sources and calls for an energy market design tailored to the Union’s long-term energy and climate policy objectives, which makes it possible to integrate RES technologies into the internal energy market, but acknowledges that state aid has historically been necessary in the development of all energy sources;

Emphasises that the unlawful distortion of competition on the market is unacceptable, as it is only through fair competition that the EU can be assured of a reasonable level of prices for RES-technologies; calls on the Commission to bring ongoing proceedings on unfair practices to a conclusion as quickly as possible; emphasises that the best conditions for the growth of RES are offered by free and open global markets; underlines the need to do more to dismantle barriers to trade; calls on the Commission not to create any new obstacles to trade in finished products or components used in renewable energy technologies; calls on the Com ...[+++]mission to take action to remedy obstacles to trade, to safeguard fair competition, to help EU companies to access non-EU-markets and to tackle alleged trade distortions, including with regard to illegal state aid;

Agrees with the Commission that RES, together with energy efficiency measures and flexible and smart infrastructure, are the ‘no regrets’ options identified by the Commission and that RES in the future will account for a growing share of energy provision in Europe, for electricity supply, for heating (which makes up nearly half of the total energy demand in the EU) and cooling and for the transport sector, and that they will reduce Europe’s dependence on conventional energy; adds that targets and milestones should be set for the period to 2050 in order to ensure that RES have a credible future in the EU; recalls that all scenarios pres ...[+++]ented by the Commission in its Energy Roadmap 2050 assume a share of at least 30 % RES in the EU’s energy mix in 2030; suggests, therefore, that the EU should endeavour to achieve an even higher share, and calls on the Commission to propose a mandatory EU-wide RES target for 2030, taking into account the mutually interacting effects with other potential climate and energy policy targets, in particular with a GHG emission reduction target, as well its impact on the competitiveness of EU industries, including the RES industrial sectors;

Notes that the internal market in gas and electricity is to be completed by 2014 and will be crucial for RES integration to serve as a cost-effective means to balance variable electricity production; welcomes the Commission’s report on the state of progress as regards completion of the internal energy market and implementation of the third package; calls on the Commission to use all the instruments available, including the referral of Member States to the Court of Justice, to bring the internal energy market closer to completion as quickly as possible; calls on the Commission to tackle inappropriate market concentration where it hinde ...[+++]rs competition; calls on the Member States to continue with the full implementation of the internal energy market legislation and the development of interconnections, as well as the elimination of energy islands and bottlenecks;

The current debate on energy supply security is conditioned by the following developments analysed below: a) energy demand is rising, both across the EU and candidate countries; b) demand for conventional energy sources (oil, natural gas, nuclear) is rising, c) demand for imported energy sources, such as oil and natural gas, is also rising and d) at least in the short term, without targeted measures, cleaner, more efficient and renewable energy technologies are unlikely to greatly influence these trends.