The Energy Efficiency Watch (EEW) project was initiated in 2006 when a group of European, national and regional parliamentarians called for "Action, not talk" and for a close co-operation of the European, national, regional and local authorities, and all relevant stakeholders in implementing energy efficiency policies. The European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources (EUFORES), a network of parliamentarians supporting the promotion of renewables and energy efficiency, was tasked with the coordination of the project. EEW particularly aims at facilitating the implementation of the Energy Services Directive (ESD) at the national level by supporting its main target groups, which are Parliamentarians at European, national and regional level, but also the civil servants and experts involved in drafting the NEEAPs and implementing energy efficiency policies.
One important means to achieve the goals of EEW is to activate, consult and strengthen key actors in the field of energy efficiency: therefore, the important European networks ECEEE (European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy), FEDARENE (European Federation of Regional Energy and Environment Agencies), and Energy Cities (Association of European local authorities) are part of project consortium.
One of the main objectives of the second phase of the EEW project is to gain insight into the progress that Member States have achieved in terms of energy efficiency policy since the first round of NEEAPs. The assessment of national policy progress is presented in 27 National Reports, which are based on three main sources of information:
- A screening of each Member State's policy portfolio based on the second NEEAPs,
- a broad survey among experts/practitioners on how they perceive the achieved progress in energy efficiency policy since the first round of NEEAPs, and
- in-depth interviews with selected national experts with the goal to find out what is happening "beyond the paper", i.e. what really works in the field and what doesn't.
The aim of this exercise is ultimately to determine strengths and weaknesses of the national energy efficiency policy frameworks, i.e. to highlight good practice examples and point out implementation deficits. The National Reports also seek to identify relevant policy gaps, key barriers and areas for improvement so as to provide guidance to Member States on how they could improve their policy portfolios.