“I am very pleased that the Swedish Presidency today has reached an agreement with the European Parliament on these two directives. Buildings account for 40 % of Europe’s energy use and are therefore an important piece of the puzzle to reduce the EU’s impact on the climate,” says Minister for Enterprise and Energy Maud Olofsson.

The Energy Labelling Directive is intended to increase consumer awareness of the energy performance of various appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, household ovens and washing machines. These appliances will be labelled according to a scale informing consumers about how much energy the product consumes. The agreement also means that industrial products and products affecting energy consumption, such as hot water taps and showerheads, will also be included in the Directive.