The revision of the EU Governance Regulation is more than a technical update to reporting and planning rules — it is a test of whether Europe is serious about delivering a faster, fairer and more accountable energy and climate transition. At a time of growing geopolitical instability, rising climate impacts and increasing pressure on the European economy, strong and credible governance and a stable, predictable long-term vision are more important than ever.
A robust post-2030 governance framework is essential to ensure Member States stay on track to deliver climate neutrality, by enabling a rapid and just phase-out of fossil fuels, reduction of EU’s energy demand, accelerating the transition to renewable energy, and providing certainty for investors, businesses and citizens.
CAN Europe submitted its response to the European Commission Public consultation and call for evidence on the revision of the Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action. The submission deadline is 19 March 2026. Our response is based on two position papers newly adopted by the CAN E network: one focusing on the general principles for the upcoming revision, the other on the post-2030 energy governance framework.
CAN Europe sees this revision as a key opportunity to strengthen the EU framework for planning, monitoring and contributing to delivering climate action and the energy transition beyond 2030, while preserving the elements of the current system that have proven effective until now. The highlights of our response are summarised below.
- Binding targets must remain the backbone
At the core of CAN Europe’s response is the need to keep binding EU climate and energy targets for renewables and energy efficiency at the centre of the framework. These targets provide the certainty and predictability needed to drive implementation and prevent backsliding. Recent geopolitical crises, beyond the devastating human toll, have also highlighted the risks of Europe’s continued dependence on fossil fuels, which exposes households and businesses to price volatility and supply shocks. A stable framework for renewables, electrification and energy savings, which starts from binding targets, remains the most reliable way to strengthen Europe’s resilience.
- Ensuring delivery through stronger governance & enforcement
As emphasised in our energy governance position paper, the current climate and energy governance architecture – based on the five dimensions of the Energy Union – could be strengthened with a set of key performance indicators (KPIs). These indicators should help track and swiftly intervene on the enabling conditions required for the transition – including core aspects not fully addressed by the current structure, such as just transition, adaptation – without replacing existing binding targets. To be effective, they should be applied across planning, monitoring, reporting and feedback instruments.
In case of underperformance, stronger compliance and enforcement mechanisms should be introduced to guarantee that Member States deliver on their commitments. The updated Regulation should include automatic trigger mechanisms for implementing corrective tools and access to justice before national courts to review the legality of National Climate and Energy Plans (NECPs) and their implementation. Stronger links with EU economic governance are also needed – for instance with country-specific recommendations under the European Semester and national spending plans – to address gaps in delivery and support investments tackling implementation bottlenecks.
- Planning and reporting should safeguard accountability
While planning and reporting obligations can be improved and streamlined to reduce administrative burden and improve investability, simplification must not undermine the core function of NECPs and their progress reports: ensuring Member States’ compliance towards common national and EU-wide targets. NECPs submission cycles should remain as they are, reporting should be annual, and more dynamicity in planning must align with the progression principle, i.e. improve or keep the same level of ambition. The “investability” of NECPs will not be guaranteed by turning them into investment plans, but by keeping long-term, predictable targets and ensuring Member States provide meaningful information on investment needs and sources of funding to implement planned policies and measures.
Since the adoption of the Governance Regulation in 2018, we have closely monitored and analysed the drafting, implementation and revision of National Energy and Climate Plans and Long-Term Strategies, with the support of three LIFE Action projects. Our response draws on the lessons learned through years of practical engagement with NECP processes across Member States.
CAN Europe’s governance regulation position paper
CAN Europe’s energy governance position paper
CAN Europe’s response to public consultation and call for evidence