The European Community has undertaken an ambitious program aimed at improving the sustainability of energy use across Europe. At the heart of this program are efforts by the European Union and its Member States to encourage the use of renewable sources of energy. Bioenergy has become a focal point in efforts to increase the use of renewable energy. This policy brief summarises the development and status quo of the EU bioenergy policy framework and links it to the current debate on sustainability of bioenergy.

The policy brief European Union Policy on Bioenergy [pdf, 375 KB, English] was presented by R. Andreas Kraemer in Washington, 7 March 2007 at the German Marshall Fund (GMF) Biofuels Conference on Biofuels Policies in the U.S. and EU. Representatives from both, the US and the European Union discussed their respective approaches to biofuels with a focus on energy, agriculture, economic and environmental aspects.