Green homes: EU pushes for faster building energy efficiency
Usagevpn.com – Green homes are at the center of a new EU enforcement effort. Last week, Brussels launched an infringement procedure against all member states for failing to fully transpose the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) into national law. This legislation, also known as the Green Homes Directive, carries a deadline of 29 May 2026. The European Union aims to place the entire bloc on a unified path toward net-zero emissions by mid-century, with mandatory building modernisation as a cornerstone strategy. Buildings remain Europe’s largest energy consumer, making this transition critical for climate goals.
The infringement procedure signals that each member state has received a formal warning letter requiring completion of the transposition process. However, this legal action does not indicate that Europe is stagnating. Many buildings across the continent are becoming more energy-efficient, even if progress falls short of Brussels’ expectations. According to Eurostat data, approximately one in four EU citizens now resides in greener complexes compared to six years ago. Nevertheless, the pace of transformation varies significantly from one country to another.
Leading nations in green building renovation
The Netherlands leads the pack with an impressive 60.5% of buildings classified as greener. Denmark follows at 34%, while France and Slovenia each report 33%. These figures highlight a substantial disparity with Italy, which ranks last in renovation speed. Only 3% of Italian buildings have been classified as more efficient compared to 2018 levels. Malta and Greece trail slightly behind at 8% and 9.5% respectively, with both nations showing less than 10% of their building stock achieving greener status.
Achieving greener homes involves multiple strategies. Improving roof and window insulation reduces energy consumption significantly. The EU also plans to gradually eliminate incentives and subsidies for older gas and fossil fuel boilers, redirecting support toward heat pumps and solar panels. Despite these ambitions, numerous member states argue that implementing such changes within the proposed timeframe proves prohibitively expensive for many households.
“It’s not a question of agreeing or not with the EU, but rather of numbers,” explained Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Italy’s environment and energy security minister. “How can we intervene by 2033 and make a couple of pensioners spend €50,000 to bring their home to energy class B?”
Concerns extend beyond Italy. Klara Geywitz, Germany’s former housing minister from the centre-left SPD party, voiced opposition to forcing citizens to either renovate their buildings or sell their property merely to comply with energy-efficiency standards. Despite these objections, momentum continues building across Europe. Even though no country has yet fully transposed the complete EU directive into domestic law, tangible progress remains evident on the renovation front.
Eight member states have already presented their draft National Building Renovation Plan (NBRP) to the European Commission. These nations include Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Lithuania, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain. The NBRPs establish comprehensive renovation roadmaps covering both residential and non-residential structures. Each plan must incorporate an analysis of the national building stock alongside targets for 2030, 2040, and 2050. Additionally, policies addressing investment needs form an essential component of these strategic documents.
The European Commission emphasized that unlike earlier strategies, NBRPs adhere to a standardized EU-level template. This uniformity enables more consistent evaluation of advancement across all member states. While previous approaches offered general guidance, they lacked harmonised structures, shared indicators, and binding milestones throughout the Union. The final submission deadline for these comprehensive plans stands at 31 December 2026, marking another crucial milestone in Europe’s journey toward sustainable green homes.
