Focus on Luxembourg: the Energy Union tour

European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič will visit Luxembourg on 12 March as part of the Energy Union tour. The Energy Union is the EU's strategy to ensure that European citizens have access to secure, affordable and clean energy.

The Vice-President will visit the Chamber of Deputies, meeting the President of Parliament Mars Di Bartolomeo and members of the parliamentary committees for foreign and European affairs, the environment, and economic affairs. Their discussions will be focused on Luxembourg’s national energy and climate plans, its role in regional energy cooperation, and its progress towards its energy efficiency and renewable energy targets for 2020. The Vice-President will also participate in a Citizens’ Dialogue on the theme of the Energy Union. 

Ahead of his visit, Vice-President Šefčovič said

Let me encourage Luxembourg to keep up efforts to achieve its emission reduction as well as renewable energy targets by 2020. In the latter area, the country can benefit from good cooperation with other Member States, namely Lithuania and Estonia thanks to the so-called statistical transfers of renewable energy, allowing a transfer of surplus. This example is worth following. I also encourage Luxembourg to make maximum use of available EU funding to support energy and climate investments.

Over two-thirds of Luxembourg’s energy comes from petroleum products, all of which are imported, making it more dependent on imported energy than most other EU countries. Its share of renewable energy is lower than the EU average (5.5% in 2015). Luxembourg is on track to meet its 2020 renewables target. As for greenhouse gas emissions, Luxembourg is currently meeting its reduction targets for sectors outside the EU Emissions Trading System, but is projected to miss its 2020 target by three percentage points. To ensure compliance for 2020, Luxembourg could rely on overachievements from previous years, but emitting above its 2020 target will require extra efforts to comply with the more ambitious emissions reduction target for 2030.

An important factor in Luxembourg's high oil usage and relatively high emissions is the transport sector: many commuters pass through the country (fuel taxation is also relatively advantageous). To reduce emissions and congestion, the country is investing heavily in a more multimodal and sustainable transport network.

Luxembourg's electricity grid is interconnected with Belgium, France and Germany and it has the highest electricity interconnection rate of all EU countries.

As part of the 2017-2018 Energy Union Tour, the Vice-President has already visited the Netherlands, Spain, Slovakia, Sweden, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, Portugal, Estonia, Belgium, Romania, France, Finland, Luxembourg, Greece, Croatia, Latvia, and Austria. Upcoming dates and more information on the tour are available here.