The European Commission, which drafts EU laws, has proposed that the worst 15% of residential buildings in each country be improved by 2030 and again by 2033. Non-residential buildings face a similar timetable.
"We will take the necessary steps to ensure that the final text of the directive contains provisions that are compatible with the peculiarities of the Italian building heritage and that allow for gradual redevelopment," European Affairs Minister Raffaele Fitto told parliament last month.
"Italy's building stock is more obsolete. In fact, 60% of buildings here are in the two worst energy classes, against, for example, 17% in France and 6% in Germany," said Federica Brancaccio, head of ANCE, referring to Energy Performance Certificate gradings. "The government wants to stay with the status quo when it comes to climate and energy," said Eva Brardinelli, a buildings policy coordinator at the Climate Action Network in Brussels.