European Law on the Energy Communities: a Long Way to a Direct Legal Framework - European Energy and Environmental Law Review View European Law on the Energy Communities: a Long Way to a Direct Legal Framework by - European Energy and Environmental Law Review European Law on the Energy Communities: a Long Way to a Direct Legal Framework 27 2

In 2016, the European Commission presented a legislative package: "Clean Energy for all Europeans", with the proposal for a new Directive on common rules for the internal market in electricity (recast) as its part. The package is aimed at setting consumers as the "active and central players on the energy markets of the future". This issue is subjected to the analysis in this paper, which is intended to discuss its collective approach, i.e. the generation of electricity in energy communities. The research covers the analysis of previous European policy documents and programmes, repealed and to be amended legislation that indirectly addresses (or could address) the issue of energy communities, as well as the legislation that will regulate (or may regulate) it directly (i.e. the new Directive on common rules for the internal market in electricity). Seen in this light, the paper is aimed at proving that the idea for cooperation of energy consumers and local production of electricity from renewable energy sources, is deeply rooted in the European agenda for the internal energy market.

European Energy and Environmental Law Review