From Green Industrial "Plan" to action: Net Zero Industry Act, Critical Raw Materials Act and electricity market design reform

This package of European Commission proposals comes hot on the heels of the February communication on a Green Industrial Plan.

🔹 The Net-Zero Industry Act is intended to provide a regulatory framework suited for "quick deployment" to scale up industrial capacity for net-zero technology products. It's called an Act, but its actually a proposal for a Regulation.

🔸The Critical Raw Materials Act is intended to give effect to the Industrial plan goal of ensuring sufficient access to those materials that are "vital for manufacturing key technologies." It aims to ensure a "secure and sustainable supply of CRMs and contains measures to strengthen EU’s capacities throughout the value chain." It's called an Act but its also actually a proposal for a Regulation.

➡️ Regulations are binding and have direct effect - that means that once adopted there is no need for implementing legislation in the Member States.

🔸 Both "Acts" have Annexes and both foresee further delegated acts in the future.

🔹 These Acts are accompanied by a Communication entitled: "A secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials in support of the twin transition." That communication identifies other mechanisms in the pipeline.

➡️These two proposals will now continue through the inter-institutional legislative process.

🔸 The proposal to reform the EU's electricity market design envisages revising different existing pieces of EU legislation: the Electricity Regulation, the Electricity Directive, and the REMIT Regulation.

LINKS:

European Commission press release and links: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_1665

Green Industrial Plan: https://commission.europa.eu/document/41514677-9598-4d89-a572-abe21cb037f4_en

Electricity market reform: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_1591