Translation of "large store sector association " (English → French) :

effective partnerships and cross-sectoral cooperation between schools and external stakeholders, including a variety of professionals, NGOs, businesses, associations, youth workers, local authorities and services, and other representatives from the community at large in accordance with local contexts.

Welcomes the Commission communication of February 2016 on an EU strategy on heating and cooling, but highlights the lack of progress and low targets set for renewable use in heating and cooling, in particular in buildings; stresses the great potential for continued progress in renewable use in heating and cooling; notes that the heating and cooling sector accounts for half the EU’s final energy consumption and therefore plays a key role in achieving the EU objectives on climate and renewable energy resources; recognises the benefits of increasing renewable energy in the heating and cooling sector; stresses the increased flexibility of thermal infrastru ...[+++]cture and storage in facilitating the integration of variable renewable sources by storing energy in the form of heat, offering excellent returns on investment and providing opportunities for enhancing quality local employment; calls on the Commission to bridge the regulatory gaps in the post-2020 renewables legislative package; reiterates that efforts in the heating and cooling sector hold great potential for increased energy security (given that 61 % of gas imported into the European Union is used in buildings, mainly for heating purposes), for example through the development of district heating/cooling networks, which are an efficient means of integrating sustainable heat into cities on a large scale, since they can simultaneously deliver heat derived from a range of sources and are not inherently dependent on any one source.

The growing availability of digital infrastructures and services would in turn increase consumer choice and quality of service, and contribute to territorial and social cohesion, as well as facilitate mobility across the EU; while for the digital economy at large, a better functioning electronic communications sector throughout the Union should lead to greater choice and quality of business inputs, enabling the attainment of productivity gains associated ...[+++] with ICT use as well as from modernised public services.

To give you a few isolated examples: standardising the thresholds for large projects at EUR 50 million, simpler regulations for modifying operational programmes if – and this is a very important point – this is necessary to overcome the crisis, making it possible to subsidise energy efficiency measures in the construction and renovation of housing, which will not only result in energy savings, but will also have a positive impact on the sectors associated with the building industry.