The European Commission has launched a 12-week open public consultation and call for evidence on minimum performance standards for data centres in the EU. The feedback received will support the Commission’s preparatory work for the legislative proposal planned for the second quarter of 2027. Interested parties are invited to submit their input by 14 December 2026.
Expanding data centre capacity is essential for the EU’s technological sovereignty, competitiveness, energy resilience and security. At the same time, the growth of data centres raises challenges, not only in terms of energy consumption, but also for electricity grids, carbon emissions and environmental resources such as water.
Under the Energy Efficiency Directive, the Commission may propose further measures to improve the energy performance of data centres, including the introduction of minimum performance standards for data centres. Such standards could help reduce the energy consumption and environmental footprint of data centres in the EU.
The EU has already taken important steps to improve the sustainability of data centres and promote their integration with the energy system. The EED introduced provisions to promote greater energy efficiency and sustainability in the sector. The Commission published a strategic roadmap for digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI) in the energy sector on 3 June 2026. The data centre energy efficiency package, also published today, aims at further improving transparency, notably through a common EU rating scheme and label for data centres.
