Breton puts his weight behind EU’s forthcoming Solar Charter

The EU’s Single Market Commissioner, Thierry Breton, expressed his support on Tuesday (9 April) for the European Solar Charter, a new document designed to boost support for domestic solar manufacturers.

Solar panels have become indispensable to Europe’s energy transition—in 2023, the EU installed 56 GW worth of solar panels. Yet, faced with competition from abroad, European manufacturers are languishing.

The industry’s best ally these days is shaping up to be Single Market Commissioner Thierry Bretontold a group of EU lawmakers that Europe “needs a trade policy that pays more attention to distortions, particularly those caused by China.”

Stressing his preference for European-made products, Breton confirmed that the EU will sign up to the Solar Charter – a document committing EU countries and the Commission to support domestic producers – next Monday (15 April).

Some 20 EU energy ministers will sign the document – which mirrors a similar December 2023  show of support for the wind industry – on the sidelines of an informal meeting dedicated to Europe’s energy future.

The charter, seen by Euractiv, highlights the need for a “resilient, sustainable and competitive European solar value chain”  and asks EU countries to support new solar factories and help maintain current ones. 

It also asks EU countries to ringfence auctions and public procurement for solar projects, which can boast non-price criteria like “responsible business conduct.” These criteria are codified in the Net-Zero Industry Act, which lawmakers will vote on on 23 April before entering into force later this year.

The Commission is asked to arrange additional support from the European Investment Bank and to examine whether designated solar projects could bypass state-aid rules. 

The charter asks the Berlaymont to “assess all evidence of alleged unfair practices put forward by the industry or from other independent sources.” Something likely to be supported by Breton, who announced a probe into two Chinese solar companies last week.

“This is a welcome input paper from the Commission and largely in line with the European solar sector’s perspective on our deployment and supply chains challenges,” said Dries Acke, policy director at industry association SolarPower Europe, adding that he particularly welcomed the mention of  “better use of existing EU financial instruments for EU manufacturing.”

[Edited by Donagh Cagney/Alice Taylor]

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