The targets for renewables and efficiency would be binding at EU level, but neither would be binding at national level or broken down into national targets. In the document, all three targets appear in “hard brackets”, meaning that the figures are still the subject of negotiation between national governments.

The governments have joined the European Parliament’s call for a higher renewables ambition level than the 27% proposed by the European Commission (EC) in January this year, but without sharing the concerns of the parliament, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the renewables industries about the discontinuation of national targets after 2020.

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