How come the bureaucrats of the European Commission are suddenly taking a decision that affects so much the life of every European citizen?
By presenting a draft regulation aiming at phasing out the less energy efficient lamps, the Commission is implementing the specific mandate from the European Parliament and the Council of Member States as originally laid down in the Ecodesign Directive (2005/32/EC, see point II.3 of this FAQ). In its Article 16, the Directive specifically requested the Commission to introduce implementing measures on lighting in the domestic sector through this procedure. The importance of this measure was underlined by the Spring European Council of 2007, which invited the Commission to “rapidly submit proposals to enable increased energy efficiency requirements (…) on incandescent lamps and other forms of lighting in private households by 2009” and by the Parliament itself in its resolution of 31 January 2008 on the Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, where the European Parliament stressed “the importance of the Commission’s keeping to the proposed timetable for the withdrawal of the most inefficien
