European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
Art. 12, Art. 14a, Art. 57, Art. 63 of Energy Efficiency Act
The Energy efficiency act (EEA) aims to enhance energy supply security, energy sector competitiveness and environment protection.
Two groups of companies are affected by the EEA - energy suppliers, defined in Article 14a (4) with regard to achieving the energy saving targets and energy consumers, defined in Article 57 (2), with regard to mandatory energy efficiency surveys. Municipalities, as actors described in Article 63 of the act, together with actors of Article 57 (2) are required to implement energy consumption management activities.
The EEA national target sets forth saving primary energy of at least 27.89% and final energy consumption of at least 31.67% of the reference scenario PRIMES 2007 for the period 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2030. The act has introduced measures including the obligation to undertake municipal energy efficiency programmes, requirements for energy efficiency labelling, the use of minimum standards for energy efficient appliances, obligatory energy efficiency surveys (audits) and amendments of the energy performance standards for existing buildings.
Other measures include the provision of energy efficiency improvement activities and measures, as well as energy services, the establishment of a national information system to ensure accessibility and availability of information on the condition of energy efficiency, the creation of funding mechanisms for energy efficiency improvement and energy savings certificates, and the introduction of energy efficiency control and administrative penalty provisions.
The regional and local governments are obliged to implement the energy efficiency policy at regional and municipal levels.
The Energy efficiency act, amended in March 2021, includes over 100 changed provisions. These amended provisions concern mainly the new planning period 2020-2030, as well as detailing the responsibilities of the various authorities responsible for the implementation, audit and surveys of obligated parties.
The amended Article 63 introduces provisions obliging the energy consumers, as defined in Article 57 (2) to exercise energy management activities, including maintaining a database about energy consumption and annual reporting to the Sustainable Energy Development Agency (SEDA) of their energy management activities, by 15 December of the respective year.
Eurofound (2021), Bulgaria: Employer's obligation to improve energy efficiency, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/employers-obligation-to-improve-energy-efficiency/bulgaria
Between the end of 2022 and the first half of 2023, almost 300,000 employees working for ‘big tech’ companies were laid off across the world, making headlines for months in global media. This development has been a shock, considering the high numbers of jobs in well-known tech corporations with a reputation for offering good working conditions and well-paid positions.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions. Many banks in the sector have been undergoing serial restructuring since the global financial crisis, and it is one of the few service sectors with stagnant or declining employment.
Since 2011, the Restructuring support instruments database of the EU PolicyWatch has been collecting information on measures that assist companies and workers to anticipate and manage restructuring. This article looks at measures in the database aimed at supporting employees and employers during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022).
Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor database reveals the impact of the energy crisis on employment in the EU. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, energy prices have hit record highs. The European Commission imposed sanctions and limitations on the import of oil and gas from Russia, which has reacted by reneging on supply commitments to many Member States.
