The event launched the newly founded EU Energy Poverty Observatory (EPOV) established by the European Commission and managed by a consortium of organisations, including the EPC.  The objective of EPOV is to provide a user-friendly and open-access resource to promote public engagement on the issue of energy poverty, disseminate information and good practices, facilitate knowledge sharing among stakeholders and support informed decision-making at all levels. The event comprised four panel discussions. The first one (‘Stepping up the EU fight against energy poverty’) offered the view of the main EU institutional actors on the challenge of energy poverty, including the Commission, the European Parliament and the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy. The second session (‘Presentation of the EU Energy Poverty Observatory’) described the EPOV project and the functioning of the EPOV platform. The third one (‘Stakeholders’ view: what expectations from the EU Energy Poverty Observatory?’) gave voice to a number of key civil society stakeholders active in the fight against energy poverty. Finally, the fourth session presented the perspective of the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.

The event started with the introductory remarks of Dominique Ristori, Director General for Energy, DG Energy, European Commission. The first panel included various policymakers, including Maroš Šefčovič, European Commission Vice President for the Energy Union, Theresa Griffin, Member of the European Parliament, Zhecho Stankov, Deputy Minister of Energy of Bulgaria and Jerzy Buzek, Member of the European Parliament, and Claude Turmes, Member of the European Parliament. The last session saw the participation of Pierre Jean Coulon, President, Section for Energy, Transport, Infrastructure, European Economic and Social Committee, and Kata Tüttö, Member of the Committee of the Regions. The concluding speech was delivered by Miguel Arias Cañete, European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy.