The Cypriot Presidency of the European Council, which will take place between January and June 2026, comes at a crucial juncture in European history: a persistent energy – and associated cost of living – crisis is hurting the competitiveness of SMEs and the European economy at large. More households are failing to access basic energy services, with over 40 million European households (10.6%) being classified as energy poor in 2023. At the same time, growing geopolitical tensions threaten Europe’s energy security. 

Energy communities can address all three of the aforementioned topics: they contribute to energy security, they ensure affordability of energy and competitiveness, and they pursue social objectives, such as tackling energy poverty. Crucially, energy communities can also crowd in significant amounts of private capital, helping bridge the more than €400 billion gap in climate and energy investments that Europe is currently facing. For these reasons, REScoop.eu calls on the Cypriot Presidency to prioritise energy communities in some of its key policy files.