EuroACE urges EU leaders to act decisively on energy efficiency to avoid an even earlier EU Energy Dependence Day

On which day of the year does the EU become entirely dependent on foreign imports? The EU imported just over 43% of its primary energy in 1995; by 2011 the figure had risen to nearly 54%, in large part due to increased energy use in buildings. The EU therefore became dependent on foreign imports on 26 July in 1995, but as early as 18 June in 2011: an extra 38 days of energy dependence.

European Energy Dependence Day is set to fall even earlier over the next decade, unless the EU ambitiously addresses its most energy-consuming sectors, such as buildings, with a binding 40% energy efficiency target for 2030, supported by a binding sectoral target for buildings. This was the message Adrian Joyce, Secretary General of EuroACE, delivered to the Energy Ministers at the informal ministerial meeting in Athens on 16 May 2014.

“The EU is worryingly reliant on external sources of energy, leaving it vulnerable to energy shocks, high costs and, as we have recently seen, political turmoil,” he explained.