European Commission publishes draft EU data center rating scheme

The European Commission has published a draft regulation establishing an EU-wide energy-efficiency rating scheme for data centers and opened a public consultation.

• Main announcement: The European Commission (Directorate-General for Energy) published the draft regulation (second step after Regulation EU/2024/1364) on 27 March 2026, inviting feedback via the public call for feedback; the consultation closes on 23 April 2026, and the regulation is scheduled for adoption in Q2 2026.
• Background and details: The draft sets rules for using information from the European database on data centers to issue automatic electronic labels; it aims to improve transparency on energy use, water consumption, renewable energy use, waste heat re-use, and grid efficiency and to inform policy-making and procurement across the EU.