Audition du Commissaire Logement - 5 novembre - questions parlementaires

Dan Jorgensen 

Commissioner for Energy and Housing 

5 novembre 2024 - 14h30

European Parliament - Hearing

Questions Lead : EMPL, ITRE 

lnvited : ECON, ENVI, IMCO, REGI 

EMPL 1. Many people suffer from a lack of affordable housing. How will you ensure that the first ever European Affordable Housing Plan, announced by Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen, will provide enough affordable housing to respond to the housing needs of the low and middle income groups? What concrete actions do you foresee, in particular to ensure that the Plan will allow the necessary public and private investment to provide affordable, accessible housing and opportunities for all? How will you guarantee the "housing first" principle as it has proven to be effective on both economic and social terms to end homelessness? What is your approach with regard to private property in the context of any Union action in the area of housing? How are you going to ensure close cooperation with Executive Vice-President-designate Minzatu in thiscontext? 

2. Your mission letter indicates that your work will help address energy poverty and ensure a social, just and competitive transition. What policies do you intend to implement to protect those most impacted by energy poverty, ensuring affordable renovation and access to green housing? How will the Action Plan for Affordable Energy Prices tackle energy poverty? What specific incentives do you foresee to fester the long-term development of green social and public housing, green buildings and the reduction of energy costs for both owners and tenants? 

3. Your mission letter instructs you to support the Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition to work on reforming State Aid rules to enable housing support measures, notably social housing. What changes to the EU state aid rules and the social housing definition in the services of general economic interest (SGI) legislation do you envisage in order to ensure that housing is excluded from market rules and that sufficient social housing is provided? Will you , as Commissioner , endeavour to achieve explicit exemptions from the fiscal rules for state investment in housing? 

ITRE 1. What is your vision for your portfolio over and above your mission letter and what would you like your legacy to be? What legislative proposals and other initiatives will you suggest to the College of Commissioners for adoption in the next five years and in particular in the first 100 days? How will you ensure that these proposals, as well as the implementation of existing legislation, would strengthen European competitiveness? Do you intend to base those legislative proposals on dedicated impact assessments? How do you plan to ensure the effective implementation of the European Green Deal and all energy-related legislation? How will you ensure effective implementation of the energy efficiency first principle in planning, policy and major investment decisions? What role do you see for energy efficiency in enhancing the competitiveness of EU industry? What are your views on the Energy Union Governance? How do you view the role of technological neutrality in the energy sector? What is your view on nuclear energy and SMRs? How do you plan to advance on energy system integration? How do you intend to strengthen citizen participation in your work? 

2. What are your plans for the review of the security of supply framework? What lessons can be learned from the war in Ukraine? What strategy will you propose to further diversify away from dominant or unreliable suppliers and routes of supply? What initiatives do you envisage to protect energy supply from physical and cyber threats? What steps will you follow to reduce reliance on external suppliers while enhancing clean energy and critical infrastructure within the EU, including the development of the hydrogen economy and sufficient hydrogen supply? What role do you see for the European Hydrogen Bank? How would you frame a Union strategy on flexibility, including demand side response and storage? How will you address the challenge of energy supply volatility associated with increasing renewable electricity generation? How do you assess the existing legal framework on European Grids and what measures would you propose for its improvement? What concrete actions will you propose to accelerate the upgrading of electricity grids and removing the existing bottlenecks within and between Member States, including at distribution level, offshore and very lang distance transmission and to achieve the 15% interconnection capacity target? What is your view on EU funding for energy infrastructure projects and their role in the European Competitiveness Fund and the forthcoming MFF? What measures do you envisage for the Electrification Action Plan? 

3. What will be the main elements of the Action Plan for Affordable Energy Prices? What specific measures will you put in place to reduce energy prices for households, companies and industries, especially energy-intensive industries? How do you intend to further address energy poverty? How do you plan to extend the use of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and Contracts for Difference (CfDs) to ensure competitive prices? What is your position on the current energy market bidding zones? What are your concrete plans for the first-ever European Affordable Housing Plan and the European Strategy for Housing Construction, considering the EU and Member States competences in that area? What do you see as the main synergies between the European Affordable Housing Plan, the EED and the EPBD? What space do you see for increasing financing for energy efficiency and renovations under the next MFF? How do you intend to pursue the goal of delivering decarbonised and affordable heating and cooling? What role do you see for solar heating, geothermal and district heating? How will you ensure that EU measures tackle the issue of insulation of vast housing estates and rural areas? How will you contribute to further developing the New European Bauhaus? 

lnvited Committees 

ECON State aid rules How do you envisage the revision of State aid rules, together with the Executive Vice President for a Clean Just and Competitive Transition to enable housing support measures for social housing? Would you consider the creation of an exempted category, which would include affordable housing for mid-market rental households as a Service of General Economic lnterest (SGEI) and under which conditions? ENVI What is your vision for a decarbonised Energy Union? How do you plan to strengthen the synergies between and reconcile energy security with the emission reduction targets? How will you accelerate the deployment pace of renewable energies to meet the EU' renewable 2030 targets, including through the full implementation of REPowerEU and tackling the permitting delays in this regard? What role do you envisage for renewables in the Action Plan for Affordable Energy Prices? In the context of the just transition, how will you simplify the implementation of current EU legislation in the area of buildings and construction to reduce administrative burdens for both businesses and consumers and how can, especially low-income households, be supported in the renovation and decarbonisation of their houses, inter alia, via Social Climate Fund? 

IMCO Housing As underlined in your mission letter, the quality and affordability of housing is a key issue for millions of people in Europe. How do you plan to develop the Strategy for Housing Construction, in particular with regard to the implementation of the internal market for constructions products and better digitalisation in the construction sector to support housing and improve the quality and sustainability of housing supply? Besides the enhancement of the housing supply, how would you tackle the systemic issues of short-term rentals while taking into account the recently agreed Short-Term Rental Regulation, the Services Directive and the subsidiarity of Member States, and ensure an efficient and accessible use of the current housing stock? 

REGI Housing One of your responsibilities will be the development of a "European Strategy for Housing Construction". How do you intend to balance reducing construction costs with enhancing the environmental performance of buildings? What kind of initiatives would you suggest to increase the productivity of the construction sector? The scope of funding by the cohesion policy is severely limited to energy efficiency improvements in housing, promotion of inclusion of marginalised communities, housing infrastructure for persons under or applying for « international protection ». Within the framework of the new « European Affordable Housing Plan and besides doubling the cohesion policy funding, what additional measures would you propose to promote the construction of « affordable housing for all » ? What are your views on the revision of the EU Staite aid rules for services of general economic interest ‘SGEI) applicable to social housing ? Finally, what synergies do you plan to develop between the cohesion policy funds, EIB support, and other EU programs such as InvestEU of the Social Climate Fund to ensure long-term housing solutions that are not only affordable but also environmentally and energy sustainable ?

RDV le 5 novembre à 14h30 

pour l'audition du Commissaire Logement Jorgensen