The European Commission has published a common EU rating scheme for data centres and opened a 12-week consultation on whether minimum performance standards should follow.
The consultation, announced on 21 September, closes on 14 December 2026. The Commission says the responses will inform preparatory work for a legislative proposal planned for the second quarter of 2027. It also published the delegated regulation and annexes for the rating scheme on the same day.
The two measures address different parts of the same policy question. The rating scheme is intended to make data-centre performance easier to compare. The consultation asks whether the EU should go further and introduce compulsory minimum standards for the sector.
Disclosure first, possible rules later
A rating scheme gives operators a common way to present performance information. It is not, by itself, a cap on electricity consumption or a mandatory efficiency threshold.
Any minimum standard would be a later measure and would require the Commission’s legislative process. The consultation is evidence-gathering, not a new rule that data-centre operators must meet today.
The Commission said expanding data-centre capacity is tied to Europe’s technological sovereignty, competitiveness, energy resilience and security. It also said the sector’s growth puts pressure on electricity grids, carbon emissions and resources including water.
Infrastructure limits sit outside the server hall
Data centres need more than efficient IT equipment. They need dependable electricity, transmission capacity, cooling systems and, in many locations, planning permission and water management. Our earlier coverage of why some data centres wait years for electricity examined the grid queues that can delay a project before servers arrive.
Cooling is another cost and resource issue, especially where AI processors are packed more densely. In Singapore, regulators have set a benchmark for liquid-cooled facilities, which we covered earlier this month. The Commission’s package does not prescribe that approach, but it places the same operational pressures inside a broader EU policy discussion.
What the Commission will decide next
The Energy Efficiency Directive allows the Commission to propose further measures for data-centre energy performance. The consultation will give operators, utilities, local authorities and other interested parties a chance to comment on the evidence before the Commission decides what form a proposal should take.
For businesses planning European capacity, Monday’s announcement provides a clearer direction of travel but not a final compliance rule. The published rating regulation and the consultation both form part of the Commission’s data-centre energy-efficiency package.
