UFE’s position on the Revision of the Guidelines on State aid for Environmental protection and Energy

State aid guidelines for environmental protection and energy (EEAG) no longer reflect the reality of the market developments and technological changes that occurred over the past few years to comply with more ambitious climate and energy targets. The EEAG need to be revised and modernised to address the challenges which businesses are facing to invest in clean energy while maintaining their competitiveness. The future EEAG must also be aligned with EU’s latest legislative developments regarding climate and energy ambitions – from the Clean Energy Package to the Green Deal – as they not only deeply modify market design configuration but also increase both the objectives in terms of energy from renewable sources and the means by which they can be achieved, in order to engage the power sector in an increasingly decarbonised path.
The French Electricity Industry (UFE) has identified the following key priorities to make sure that investments in renewable and low-carbon electricity are supported, especially capital-intense investments requiring long-term frameworks, and that industry sectors that are more exposed to international competition can reduce their carbon footprint while remaining competitive.