Press release
“National resilience on local roofs” – lawyers respond to Citizen Energy Package leak
10 March 2026
Ahead of this afternoon’s debate, ClientEarth lawyers have reacted to the leak of the EU’s new Citizen Energy Package (CEP) – saying that in a time of pending energy emergency, national leaders across the EU need to wake up and implement the existing laws first – or systemic barriers mean community energy will remain a pipe dream.
Energy lawyer Anna Fraczyk said: “People want to make their own energy. It’s cheaper, it gives ownership, it’s cleaner, and it’s absolutely crucial given ongoing geopolitical instability that we can provide our own power. Resilience is the word of the moment.
“But what’s brewing now is the second huge consumer price shock within five years and the power of community energy on home turf has still not been – to use the Commission’s own word – unleashed.
“Laws that should enable this are accumulating [1] – the first set came through almost a decade ago. It’s all very well adding more at the EU level, but not nearly enough is happening at national level. The existing laws need to be put to work, or new ones are just stacks of paper, not panels on roofs.”
The CEP emphasises how affordable energy is an “essential condition” for people’s rights, and that community participation in its production is vital to bolster and develop European energy supply. [2]. But at present, citizens remain in energy poverty and the continent remains in thrall to external fossil fuel producers.
ClientEarth’s lawyers say that to make affordable, homegrown energy a reality, we need full and proper implementation of REDII and IEMD, and the establishing of a comprehensive approach to energy communities, at the national level.
Fraczyk said: “Energy transformation is always talked about in terms of huge solar farms or other big developments, which inevitably evoke planning panic – but what if we could build national resilience within our own neighbourhoods?
“That’s what energy communities are about, and that’s what the law is designed for. National failure to take it forward is paving the way to an avoidable disaster.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
More than 8,000 energy communities are already active across Europe, but the potential is far greater. By 2030, over 16 million households could generate their own renewable energy, achieving savings of up to €930 per year depending on technology and community setup (data from the Citizen Energy Package proposal).
According to a survey in Poland, as many as 90% of Polish people do not know what energy communities are, although once the concept is explained, nearly half say they would like to join one.
ClientEarth emphasises the importance of the effective implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) and the Internal Electricity Market Directive (IEMD). These directives – meant to be transposed by the end of 2021 – were designed to empower energy consumers to actively participate in the energy transition, including by producing, consuming and sharing renewable energy. In particular, they establish and support the concepts of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) and Citizen Energy Communities (CECs), requiring Member States to create enabling frameworks for their development. However, in many countries these obligations have still not been fully transposed, and even where transposition has taken place, implementation remains weak.
Since the adoption of the Clean Energy Package in 2018/2019, the European Commission has introduced a number of policy measures and regulatory initiatives relevant to energy communities. These include, in particular, the Fit for 55 and REPowerEU legislative packages, which added further provisions affecting energy communities in the revised Renewables Directive, the Energy Efficiency Directive, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, the Social Climate Fund, as well as the revised Electricity Directive and Electricity Regulation. But again – without full and proper implementation of REDII and IEMD, and establishing a comprehensive approach at the national level, these take us no further.
Meanwhile, citizens remain in energy poverty and the continent remains in thrall to external fossil fuel producers.
Footnotes:
[1] The Citizen Energy Package (CEP) itself states: “A strong set of EU laws is already in place for all this, but its implementation remains uneven.”
[2] “Affordable energy is an essential condition for a safe, decent quality of life, free of poverty, and key to ensuring fairness and inclusion. All Europeans should have access to affordable, clean energy in comfortable and resilient homes.”
“If energy prices are too high, the entire economy suffers – consumption drops and businesses slow down.”
“To achieve this potential, energy communities need to be empowered to share electricity without being subject to excessive supplier fees, sell surplus energy and tap into their potential to balance high or low market demand.”
About ClientEarth
ClientEarth is a non-profit organisation that uses the law to create systemic change that protects the Earth for – and with – its inhabitants. We are tackling climate change, protecting nature and stopping pollution, with partners and citizens around the globe. We hold industry and governments to account and defend everyone’s right to a healthy world. ClientEarth teams in Europe, Asia and the USA work to shape, implement and enforce the law, to build a future for our planet in which people and nature can thrive together.