Green homes directive would have ‘devastating effects in Italy’

(EurActiv, 3 Feb 2023) The European Commission’s proposal on the energy efficiency of buildings in exchange for more funds to support renovations would have devastating effects in Italy, said the President of Confedelizia Giorgio Spaziani Testa who called on politicians to defend the savings of Italian families.

The European Parliament has upwardly modified the European Commission’s proposals on the energy efficiency of buildings in exchange for more funds to support renovations, but, in Italy, a chorus of opposing voices has risen, calling for a rethink of the directive.

“The text (…) would cause devastating effects in Italy,” Testa, who calls on politicians to work “to defend the savings of millions of Italian families, the beauty of our building heritage and the freedom of European countries to identify their own needs and establish their own priorities.”

The amendments to the directive were proposed by the Populars (EPP/Forza Italia), Socialists (S&D/PD), Liberals (Renew/IV/Action), Greens, and Left and will be voted on 9 February for the first time. Identity and Democracy (ID), of which the League is a member, and the Conservatives (ECR) led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (FDI), remain opposed.

The League has already promised to “fight”. According to Lega’s MEP Isabella Tovaglieri, the timeline planned in the agreement makes the energy requalification of buildings “unfeasible” and denounced “the ideological drift of the EP.”

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EurActiv, 3 Feb 2023: Green homes directive would have ‘devastating effects in Italy’