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The European Court of Auditors report in a nutshell
17 July 2024Press Release
17 July, Brussels
Hydrogen Europe concurs with the conclusions of a report published today by the European Court of Auditors which criticises the complexity and length of implementation of European hydrogen legislation.
The ECA report acknowledges that the legal framework for climate protection was adopted quickly and robustly. However, the accompanying measures, in particular the delegated act for the definition of renewable hydrogen, has taken too long and is overly complex, deferring important investments into the sector. In addition, the approval process for the IPCEIS is far too lengthy to achieve the desired effect. Lastly, the implementation of existing regulations must be significantly accelerated.
“We commend the ECA for their exhaustive and strong analysis of the current state of affairs regarding the hydrogen sector in Europe. Hydrogen Europe feels that its own assessment of the situation is fully confirmed by the ECA report, which essentially provides a manual for the new Commission on how to thoroughly update the hydrogen strategy in order to regain competitiveness on a global scale, highlighting how we can avoid past mistakes,” said Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe.
Hydrogen Europe encourages the European Commission to take note of the report’s conclusions and update its targets as well as accelerate the implementation of the EU hydrogen market with a more cohesive approach. To achieve this, the European Commission should take more ownership on guiding members states on their hydrogen strategies as part of their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPS), and it should also better reflect national priorities when setting EU policy strategies. While some member states want to develop low-carbon hydrogen, the Commission appears stubbornly against creating a framework that will boost its use. There is a real risk that the Low Carbon Hydrogen Delegated Act takes as long to finalise, and is as excessively complex, as the Delegated Act before it.
“The revision of the Delegated Act’s effect on global markets cannot wait until the foreseen date in 2028. We would lose precious time and our competitive advantages as EU. The new Climate Commissioner should make this a priority to rectify immediately,” said Chatzimarkakis.
Hydrogen Europe supports the ECA calls on the Commission to revisit their overall hydrogen strategy, detailing the role expected from imports as well as the role hydrogen can play in cross-sectoral renewable integration and decarbonisation.
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