The European Commission decided on Thursday to send letters of formal notice to Bulgaria, Ireland, Poland and Romania for not notifying their long-term national strategies under Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 on the governance of the Energy Union and actions climate, informs a press release of the Community Executive.

This letter of delay represents, in fact, the formal opening of the infringement procedure, according to Agerpres.

Stable long-term strategies are essential to help achieve the necessary economic transformation and broader sustainable development goals, as well as to make progress on the long-term climate goals set by the Paris Agreement. At the EU level, the Union finalized its long-term strategy in 2019, with the basic objective being that Europe becomes the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.

Through the European Climate Law, the EU enshrined in law the objective of climate neutrality and the clear intermediate objective of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. The Governance Regulation sets out a process whereby the member states prepare, by January 1, 2020, their first long-term strategies with a perspective of at least 30 years and, thereafter, new strategies once every 10 years.

To date, Bulgaria, Ireland, Poland and Romania have not presented their long-term national strategies to the Commission. The Member States concerned now have two months to respond and submit the strategies to the Commission. Otherwise, in the absence of a satisfactory answer, the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.