With the Åland judgment, the European Court of Justice ruled that in the absence of harmonized national support schemes for renewable energy sources (RES), "it is in principle possible for Member States to limit access to such schemes to electricity production on their territory".

This ruling finally puts an end to the uncertainty about the compatibility of the Renewable Energy Sources Directive with the European Treaty. By respecting the existing regulatory framework, the Court has now referred the coordination of policies on renewable energy sources back to policy makers. At the same time, EURELECTRIC positively notes that today's ruling takes into account the legitimate interests of investors.

"We call on the European Commission to further support cooperation between Member States. Efforts must now continue to develop a European approach for cost-effective deployment of sustainable energy through greater use of cooperation mechanisms and better market integration in line with the guidelines for state aid in the field of energy and environment that come into force today," said Hans ten Berge, Secretary General of EURELECTRIC.

EURELECTRIC will carry out further work to develop recommendations for the revision of the RES Directive to ensure sustainable and market-based growth of renewable energy across Europe.