New EU states struggling with building energy directive - RICS

Most new European Union member states are experiencing 'substantial problems' implementing the EU Energy Performance in Buildings Directive (EPBD), the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has warned. Presenting a new report entitled Towards an Energy Efficient Building Stock on Friday, RICS said that Hungary and Slovakia are the only new EU states that appear to be on track to fully implement the directive before 1 January 2009.

In Western Europe, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal have successfully completed all the actions required by the EPBD to improve energy performance in buildings. Greece, RICS said, is however likely to miss the January 2009 deadline.

RICS said that it was nevertheless encouraging that in a significant number of countries certification of buildings is up and running, training schemes are beginning to take shape, and an increasing number of inspectors are operating in the market. This is a vast improvement, RICS said, on the findings of the 2007 status report, which indicated that implementation of the directive was proving to be a 'considerable practical challenge' for many member states.

Ursula Hartenberger, head of RICS Public Affairs Europe commented: 'Almost a year on from when RICS first looked into the practical workings of the directive, the general trend is looking much more promising.

However, some countries are still struggling to fulfil the requirements of the directive. This is partly because of the legacy of a past that has left them with a large proportion of highly inefficient prefabricated buildings and partly because of a lack of political leadership.'

'Most of these countries are making use of an additional three year derogation period and are not going to fully implement before 2009. The inspection of boilers and air conditioning systems in particular seems to have been one area where the majority of Member States needed more time to fully meet the requirements of the EPBD,' Hartenberger said.

RICS is an associate member of the EPBD Buildings Platform and a partner of the EU Sustainable Energy Campaign. RICS actively participates in stakeholder discussions regarding the revision of the EPBD and advises the European Commission with reports and comprehensive research papers.