On 18 March 2025, REEF met with the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera to discuss the new Clean Industrial Deal and the Affordable Energy Action Plan – two critical frameworks for unlocking investment, boosting electrification, and reinforcing Europe’s leadership in clean energy.

Participants discussed the need to reinforce the positive narrative around clean energy development, to pursue a more integrated electricity market, and to recognise electricity grids as a strategic enabler of the clean transition.

Discussions emphasised the urgency of finding innovative financing mechanisms and improving capital market integration, stressing that inaction would ultimately carry a higher cost. REEF highlighted that for every euro invested in renewables, an additional 50 cents to one euro needs to be invested in energy infrastructure to ensure capacity and well-functioning of the system.

The conversation also explored how to enhance European equipment manufacturing capacity and ensure that digitalisation and AI deployment align with the energy system’s long-term goals. It was agreed that momentum must now shift decisively from vision to delivery.