European Data Centre Regulation Tracker: Rules, Status, Deadlines

Key takeaways

• The EU’s rating scheme for data centres was adopted by the Commission as a delegated regulation on 21 September 2026. It is not yet in force. If neither the European Parliament nor the Council objects during scrutiny, it is published in the Official Journal and enters into force on the twentieth day after publication. On 6 October 2026 Parliament extended its scrutiny by two months.
• EU minimum performance standards for data centres do not exist yet. A consultation and call for evidence opened on 21 September 2026, runs until 14 December 2026, and a legislative proposal is planned for the second quarter of 2027.
• Germany’s EnEfG already requires existing data centres to reach a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.5 by 1 July 2027 and 1.3 by 1 July 2030. A bill to relax those figures to 1.6 and 1.4 had its first reading on 24 September 2026 and a committee hearing on 5 October 2026, but it is not law.
• France’s Décret n° 2025-1382 sets a 500 kW threshold for annual reporting and a 1 MW threshold for waste-heat valorisation. An Energy Reuse Factor of at least 0.20 is deemed compliant, and fines for non-compliance reach €50,000.
• Ireland requires new connecting data centres to match at least 80% of annual demand with additional renewable-electricity projects. The Netherlands restricts new hyperscale sites nationally to two designated areas.
• Italy authorises data centres through a single procedure of ten months, extendable by three in exceptional cases. Spain’s draft decree would tie grid permits from 1 MW to a PUE of 1.15 and hourly renewable matching. Norway already requires a surplus-heat cost-benefit analysis above 2 MW.
• Finland requires data centres above 1 MW to use their waste heat unless a cost-benefit analysis shows it is not feasible, and Denmark does the same for new or substantially renovated sites; Sweden and Poland have drafts. In England, the government can direct a data centre project into the national infrastructure planning regime, with no size threshold.

Germany’s Energy Efficiency Act already sets a binding ceiling on data centre efficiency: a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.5 from 1 July 2027 for any site that started operating before mid-2026, tightening to 1.3 by 2030. That figure is in force today. Next to it sit one hundred and twelve other EU and national instruments at very different stages. Some are already binding. One is adopted but still in parliamentary scrutiny, one is open for public consultation with no numbers attached yet, and one is a bill in a German committee. Spain has a draft decree past its public hearing, and Norway has amendments passed but not yet in force. Sweden and Poland have draft laws, Finland has two member bills before Parliament, and the United Kingdom has a cyber security bill in the House of Lords. Slovakia has a government bill in its National Council and Bulgaria a ministry draft, while Slovenia has not yet transposed the Directive’s data centre duties. This page tracks all of them for European data-centre operators. Each entry below states its exact threshold, the metric it uses, and the next date that matters. Most Applies to cells open with who the rule reaches, such as new sites, existing sites or grid applicants.

First published 30 September 2026, last updated 18 October 2026. Statuses were last checked against their official sources on 15 October 2026, and rows added or changed since then were checked on the day of the change. How this register is kept.

Status at a glance

Rule	Where	Status on 15 Oct 2026	Applies to	Next date
EED reporting, Article 12 and Delegated Regulation 2024/1364	EU	In force	New and existing sites. Data centres ≥500 kW installed IT power	15 May 2027, next annual report
EED waste heat, Article 26(6)	EU	In force	New and existing sites. Data centres >1 MW total rated energy input	Ongoing duty
EED energy management systems, Article 11	EU	In force as a Directive duty on Member States; deadline not yet reached	Enterprises, including data-centre operators, with average annual energy consumption above 85 TJ (23.6 GWh) over the previous three years, all energy carriers together	11 October 2027, certified energy management system in place
EU rating scheme, delegated regulation adopted 21 Sep 2026	EU	Adopted, in Parliament and Council scrutiny	New and existing sites. Same ≥500 kW reporting population	In force 20 days after Official Journal publication, if not objected to
EU minimum performance standards	EU	Consultation open	Not yet defined	14 December 2026, consultation closes
Cloud and AI Development Act, COM(2026) 502	EU	Proposal, with Parliament and Council	Cloud and AI infrastructure providers broadly	No fixed date
EnEfG §11, PUE and renewable electricity	Germany	In force	Existing sites for the PUE deadlines, new and existing sites for renewable electricity. Data centres ≥300 kW non-redundant connection power; the PUE deadlines apply to sites running before 1 July 2026	1 July 2027, PUE ≤1.5 deadline
EnEfG §11(2), new data centres	Germany	In force	New sites. Sites starting operation from 1 July 2026: PUE ≤1.2 and a reused-energy share of at least 10%, rising to 15% and 20% for sites starting from 1 July 2027 and 1 July 2028	Within two years of start-up, as an annual average
EnEfG §12, management systems	Germany	In force	New and existing sites. Same scope; validation from ≥1 MW, ≥300 kW for public bodies	Ongoing, validation duty since 1 Jan 2026
EnEfG §13, annual reporting	Germany	In force	New and existing sites. Same scope	31 March 2027
Drucksache 21/8027, EnEfG amending bill	Germany	Bill, committee hearing held 5 October 2026	New and existing sites. Data centres with installed IT power of 500 kW or more, the bill’s new definition (the Act in force uses ≥300 kW non-redundant connection power); separate §11 limits for sites running before 1 July 2026 and sites starting from that date	Committee report and final vote, no date published
Code de l’énergie L236-1 to L236-3, Décret 2025-1382	France	In force	New and existing sites. ≥500 kW reporting; ≥1 MW waste heat	15 May 2027 report; 1 October 2027 cost-benefit deadline
CRU connection policy decision	Ireland	In force	Grid applicants. New connecting data centres	Ongoing, renewables-matching duty
Bkl instruction rule, Staatsblad 2023, 492	Netherlands	In force	New sites. Hyperscale data centres: built floor area above 10 ha and electrical connection capacity of 70 MW or more (both required). Omgevingsplannen may not allow them anywhere in the Netherlands except designated sites in Het Hogeland (Eemshaven) and Hollands Kroon (Agriport A7, Middenmeer area). Not applicable where a building permit already allows the activity.	Autumn 2026: national integrated data-centre approach, which explores tightening the criteria; no date published
Bal paragraph 5.4.1a, arts 5.16a to 5.16c (Staatsblad 2024, 122): energy-efficiency data of data centres (EED Art. 12)	Netherlands	In force since 7 May 2024	New and existing sites. Operators of data centres with installed IT power of at least 500 kW; defence and disaster-response data centres exempt	15 May each year, next 15 May 2027
Decree-law 21/2026 Article 8, single authorisation for data centres, converted by Law 49/2026	Italy	In force	New and expanding sites. Enterprise, colocation and co-hosting data centres and their connection works; no power threshold in the Article	Decision within 10 months of a complete application, extendable by up to 3
Draft Royal Decree on data centre sustainability, resilience and digital sovereignty, public hearing 27 Aug to 10 Sep 2026	Spain	Draft, hearing closed, not in force	Grid applicants, pending applications included; new and existing sites for reporting. Data centres ≥1 MW access power seeking grid permits; reporting duty at ≥500 kW IT power	No approval date published; in force 20 days after Official State Gazette publication
Energy Act (energiloven) sections 7-2 to 7-4, cost-benefit analysis of surplus heat, and Law of 19 June 2026 no. 38 amending them	Norway	Sections 7-2 to 7-4 in force since 1 April 2025. Law no. 38 passed by the Storting on 26 May and 2 June 2026 and published 19 June 2026; not in force	New sites; substantial upgrades too once Law no. 38 applies. Data centres with more than 2 MW total supplied electrical power, when planning a new facility; the Ministry approves the analysis before construction starts. Law no. 38 removes the data centre exemption from the building ban in section 7-4, extends the analysis to substantial upgrades, bars building or substantially upgrading without using surplus heat where benefits exceed costs (exemption on application), drops the 2 MW figure from the Act and lets the Ministry set thresholds by regulation	In force from a date the King sets; none set
Regulation on cost-benefit analysis of surplus heat (FOR-2024-09-25-2263), sections 4 and 5	Norway	In force since 1 April 2025	New sites. All facilities covered by Energy Act section 7-2, including data centres; analysis done at the latest before construction starts; data centres exempt where concrete, documented plans exist to supply the heat to a district heating network	No date published
Electronic Communications Act (ekomloven) section 3-7 and Regulation on data centres (FOR-2024-12-18-3313) sections 1-2 and 1-3, registration with Nkom	Norway	In force since 1 January 2025; existing operators had to register by 1 July 2025	New and existing sites. Operators selling data centre services for payment, and operators running a data centre above 0.5 MW subscribed electrical power, including in-house centres (not defence, police, PST); registration with Nkom before starting (regulation section 1-3), building owner named in the registration since 1 July 2026; changes reported within two weeks	No date published
Duties added on 1 July 2026 by Regulation 2026 no. 1320 (data centre regulation sections 1-4 to 1-7 and 3-2)	Norway	In force since 1 July 2026	New and existing sites. All data centre operators: updated customer records with equipment location, disclosure of customer information to the police and security authorities, a representative present in Norway, response times; administrative fines for breaches	No date published
Regulation on data centres, chapter 2, security and preparedness (sections 2-1 to 2-10) and ekomloven section 3-7	Norway	In force since 1 January 2025	New and existing sites. All data centre operators: security management system, risk and vulnerability assessments, preparedness; incident notification to Nkom without undue delay; Nkom can order an independent security audit at the operator’s cost; important societal actors to be prioritised	No date published
Act (2025:570) on disclosure of data centre energy performance, sections 3 and 4 (EED Art. 12)	Sweden	In force since 1 July 2025	New and existing sites. Owners or operators of data centres with installed IT power demand of at least 500 kW; security-sensitive, defence and crisis-preparedness data centres exempt	15 May 2027, next annual report to the EU database (2025 data was due 15 May 2026)
Act (2025:570), section 7: orders and conditional fines	Sweden	In force since 1 July 2025	New and existing sites. Data centres covered by the reporting duty; orders may carry a conditional fine	No date published
Draft law amending Act (2014:268) on cost-benefit analyses, data centres added (EED Art. 26)	Sweden	Referred to the Council on Legislation on 20 August 2026; no proposition listed on 15 October 2026	New and substantially upgraded sites. New or substantially upgraded data centres with total installed power above 1 MW	Entry into force proposed for 1 January 2027
Draft law, section 4 a: use or recovery of waste heat at data centres (EED Art. 26(6))	Sweden	Referred to the Council on Legislation on 20 August 2026; no proposition listed on 15 October 2026	New and substantially upgraded sites. Data centres above 1 MW installed power that carried out a cost-benefit analysis, if technically and economically feasible	Entry into force proposed for 1 January 2027
Energy tax on electricity, Act (1994:1776) chapter 11 section 3; data hall reduction abolished	Sweden	Data hall reduction ended on 1 July 2023; general rate 36.0 öre per kWh	New and existing sites. Electricity used in data halls (datorhallar) is no longer eligible for the reduced rate	Rate recalculated from 2027; government sets it before the end of November each year
Energy Efficiency Act (1429/2014) s. 29 e: use of data centre waste heat	Finland	In force since 1 January 2026 (Act 1382/2025)	New and existing sites. Data centres with total power above 1 MW; an existing one that uses no waste heat must show by cost-benefit analysis that use is not feasible and notify Energiavirasto	First notice due by 31 December 2027
Energy Efficiency Act s. 27 b, 28 and 29: cost-benefit analysis for new or significantly upgraded data centres	Finland	In force since 1 January 2026 (Act 1382/2025)	New and significantly upgraded sites. New or significantly upgraded data centres with nominal total energy input above 1 MW; exempt where waste heat is used in a district heating network or in the building (s. 28); notice to Energiavirasto before building or upgrade works start	No date published
Energy Efficiency Act s. 29 f: data centre information (Act 846/2024)	Finland	In force since 30 December 2024	New and existing sites. Data centres with installed IT power of at least 500 kW; owner or operator publishes the province on its website	If the province changes, by 15 May of the following year
Energy Efficiency Act s. 29 g: Energiavirasto as competent authority for Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364	Finland	In force since 1 January 2026 (Act 1382/2025)	Steps needed to implement the EU data centre rating scheme under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364	No date published
Act 1352/2025 (HE 156/2025): data centre electricity moved from tax class II to class I	Finland	Enacted 22 December 2025; in force from 1 July 2026	New and existing sites. Electricity used in data centres, previously those with server power of at least 0.5 MW meeting energy reuse or efficiency criteria; energy tax 2.24 cents per kWh in class I against 0.05 in class II	No date published
Member bill LA 27/2026 vp: grid connection conditions for data centres (Electricity Market Act, new s. 20 d and 65 c)	Finland	Bill in Parliament; filed 1 September 2026, with the Economic Affairs Committee since 25 September 2026	Grid applicants. Data centres with connection capacity of at least 1 MVA (flexibility terms); at least 10 MVA (new generation supply contract before connection)	No date published
Member bill LA 32/2026 vp: environmental impact assessment for data centres (EIA Act, Annex 1)	Finland	Bill in Parliament; filed 18 September 2026	New sites. A data centre or group of data centres with combined planned power of at least 50 MW	No date published
Order 926 of 9 July 2024 on reporting of data centre energy performance (recast EED transposition)	Denmark	In force since 1 September 2024	New and existing sites. Operators of data centres with installed IT power of 500 kW or more; data centres used only for defence and civil protection are exempt	Report by 15 May each year
Order 1167 of 2 October 2025 on cost-benefit analyses, section 6 (data centre use of surplus heat)	Denmark	In force since 11 October 2025	New and substantially renovated sites. Data centres with total nominal energy input above 1 MW, when built or substantially renovated; cost-benefit analysis approved by the Danish Energy Agency; exempt if the heat is used in district heating or in the same building group	No date published
Heat Supply Act, section 23 r (inserted by Act 736 of 20 June 2025), basis for the surplus heat rules	Denmark	In force since 11 October 2025	Minister to set rules on data centres’ use of surplus heat or other recovery of surplus heat; no threshold in the Act	No date published
Act 866 of 7 October 2026 amending the Electricity Supply Act (grid connection prioritisation and refusal)	Denmark	In force since 12 October 2026	Grid applicants. Minister may set rules on prioritising and refusing connection requests to the public grid; Order 892 uses this power	Order 892 in force since 19 October 2026
Order 892 of 9 October 2026 on prioritising capacity and refusal at capacity limits in the public electricity grid, sections 8, 14, 16 and 18	Denmark	In force since 19 October 2026	Grid applicants. Data centres whose primary purpose is network-based data processing, storage and related IT functions (category 4, last of four); refusal of category 3 and 4 requests where capacity is limited and higher priorities would be displaced; regional pools at least twice a year for requests of 3 MW or more; critical-function data centres fall in category 1	Ongoing
Draft amendment of the Energy Efficiency Act (UC77), public disclosure of data centre energy performance	Poland	Government draft, not adopted. Open on the legislation portal, inter-ministry agreement stage last changed 2 Oct 2026	New and existing sites. Owners and operators of data centres with IT power demand above 500 kW (Directive 2023/1791 Annex VII information)	Council of Ministers adoption was planned for Q3 2026; no adoption shown on 15 Oct 2026 and no new date published
Draft amendment of the Energy Law (UC121), obligation to use waste heat (as described in the Council of Ministers work list)	Poland	Government draft, not adopted. Work-list entry updated 17 Aug 2026	Data centres with total rated input power above 1 MW, unless they show use of waste heat is not technically or economically feasible	Council of Ministers adoption planned Q4 2026
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364, reporting to the EU data centre database (applies directly, no Polish transposing rule)	Poland	In force. Poland has no separate national reporting system	New and existing sites. Data centres with IT power demand of at least 500 kW	15 May each year
Act of 7 July 2023 on preparing and carrying out investments in the National Data Processing Centre (Dz.U. 2023 item 1501)	Poland	In force since 17 Aug 2023	State investment in the National Data Processing Centre and accompanying investments; investor is the informatisation minister or a unit it designates; not a rule for private data centres	No date published
Infrastructure Planning (Business or Commercial Projects) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/13), Schedule paragraph 10 Data centres	United Kingdom	In force since 8 January 2026. Section 35 directions issued for Wapseys Wood (16 March 2026), Ampthill Road, Bedford (15 June 2026) and Dartford (1 July 2026)	New sites. England. Data centre projects that the Secretary of State directs into the nationally significant infrastructure regime because they are of national significance; a direction is possible only for development in England. The Regulations set no size threshold; the Dartford direction covers up to 300 MW total power load and 240 MW IT load	No date published. DSIT said on 17 July 2026 it will publish a National Policy Statement for data centres, without a date
National Planning Policy Framework, August 2026, policies E1 and E2 and flood risk Table 2	United Kingdom	In force. Decision-making policies took effect on 17 August 2026	New sites. England. E1 asks plans to provide for data centres, generating capacity and grid connections; E2 names co-location of large generators and data centres; flood risk Table 2 lists data centres as essential infrastructure	No date published
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill, clause 4 (data centres regulated as essential services)	United Kingdom	Bill before the House of Lords, at report stage	New and existing sites. Data centre services in the United Kingdom with rated IT load of 1 MW or more, or 10 MW or more where the data centre serves the owner’s own undertaking. Ofcom is the designated authority	26 October 2026 (Lords report stage)
Ofgem proposed data centre connection reforms: Data Centre Commitment Fee and queue management milestones	United Kingdom	Proposal. Consultation closed in September 2026; Ofgem lists it as awaiting decision	Grid applicants. Great Britain grid. Fee of about GBP 237,500 to 712,500 per MW of requested capacity for data centres of 40 MW or more connecting at transmission, or at distribution if subject to a Transmission Entry Assessment; returned if the project proceeds as planned, forfeited if it ends or fails the requirements. Queue milestones proposed from 10 MW rated IT load	Ofgem intends to take decisions later in 2026; no exact date published
AI Growth Zones (application criteria and proposed electricity cost reduction)	United Kingdom	Applications open with no closing date. Five zones listed as announced (Oxfordshire, North East, North Wales, South Wales, Scotland). Electricity cost reduction is a stated plan, not yet legislated	Zone applicants. Sites showing access to at least 500 MW of power by 2030 and water for 500 MW of AI infrastructure. Planned electricity cost reduction for data centres in AI Growth Zones of up to GBP 24/MWh in Scotland, 16 in Cumbria and 14 in the North East	April 2027 for the electricity cost reduction, subject to legislative timetables; review point in 2030
Scottish Parliament motion S7M-01177 on hyperscale data centres, as amended	United Kingdom	Motion agreed on 16 September 2026. It is a motion, not legislation. The Scottish Government has committed to national planning guidance by the end of 2026	Hyperscale data centre planning applications in Scotland. The motion believes new sites should be approved only after robust environmental impact assessments, and that no planning or consenting decisions should be made until national guidance is complete	End of 2026: Scottish Government to report back to Parliament on the guidance, then publish it in full within 12 months
Climate Change Agreements (Administration, Energy-intensive Installations and Eligible Facilities) (Amendment and Revocation) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/826), Schedule paragraph 37	United Kingdom	Made 7 July 2026; in force 1 January 2027	New and existing sites. Installations where a data facility is leased or licensed for use as a data centre. A data facility is a room or rooms used mainly for computer equipment, with regulated temperature and humidity, an electricity supply of at least 200 kW and a back-up supply when the mains fails	1 January 2027
Critical National Infrastructure designation of data centres	United Kingdom	Announced by the Technology Secretary on 12 September 2024	New and existing sites. UK data centres. Examples given: a dedicated CNI data infrastructure team and prioritised access to the National Cyber Security Centre	No date published
Energy Decree of 8 May 2009, article 7.8/1.1 paragraphs 1 to 3 (annual data centre reporting)	Belgium	In force since 27 May 2024 (decree of 19 April 2024); current text, European database route and fine from 7 May 2026 (decree of 3 April 2026, Belgian Official Gazette 27 April 2026)	New and existing sites. Flanders. Owners and operators of data centres with installed IT electrical power of at least 500 kW; data centres used for defence, police and civil protection excluded; fine of 500 to 10,000 euros for failing to report (article 13.4.19/2)	15 May 2027 (annual deadline 15 May)
Energy Decree, article 7.8/1.1 paragraph 4 (EU Code of Conduct best practices)	Belgium	In force since 27 May 2024 (decree of 19 April 2024, Belgian Official Gazette 17 May 2024); renumbered article 7.8/1.1 from 7 May 2026	New and existing sites. Flanders. Owners and operators of data centres with installed IT electrical power of 1 MW or more	No date published
COBRACE (Brussels Air, Climate and Energy Code), article 2.5.9, inserted by the ordinance of 7 March 2024	Belgium	In force since 1 April 2024	New and existing sites. Brussels-Capital Region. Owners and operators of data centres in the Region with installed IT power demand of at least 500 kW	31 March 2027 (annual deadline 31 March)
Act 406/2000, section 9c(1) and (2): annual reporting	Czechia	In force; section 9c since 1 January 2024 (Act 469/2023), reporting by 15 May to the European database since 1 August 2025 (Act 87/2025)	New and existing sites. Operators of data centres above 500 kW total power, computing equipment included; defence and internal security centres excluded; fine up to 200,000 CZK if the report is not published (section 12a)	15 May 2027 (next annual report)
Act 406/2000, section 9c(3): notification to the Ministry	Czechia	In force since 1 January 2024	New and existing sites. Owners or operators of data centres reaching 500 kW; notice to the Ministry within 2 months; no fine attached	No date published
Act 406/2000, section 9c(4) and (5): waste heat energy assessment	Czechia	In force since 1 January 2024	New and expanded sites. Owners or operators of data centres above 1 MW, when built or when power rises by more than 25 percent; not needed if waste heat is used under section 9c(6); fine up to 200,000 CZK if not arranged (section 12a)	No date published
Act 406/2000, section 9c(6) to (8), with Act 87/2025, Art. VIII point 5: waste heat use	Czechia	In force since 1 January 2024; centres above 1 MW when Act 87/2025 took effect have until 31 December 2026	New and existing sites. Builders and owners of data centres above 1 MW; supply to a heat system, supply to a customer or own use; exempt if infeasible or costs exceed benefits, shown by an energy assessment; fine up to 5,000,000 CZK (section 12a)	31 December 2026 (existing centres above 1 MW)
Decree-Law 84/2024, arts 2, 4, 5 and 7 (EED Art. 12 transposition, public reporting, fines)	Portugal	In force since 5 November 2024	New and existing sites. Data centres with at least 500 kW installed IT power: publish the Annex indicators (energy, water, waste heat, renewables) on own website and send them to DGEG; defence, internal security and civil protection centres excluded. Fines EUR 5,000 to 40,000 for legal persons (EUR 2,500 to 30,000 for failing to report to DGEG). Art. 5 lets ministers set incentives by ministerial order for centres from 1 MW; none issued	15 May each year (next 15 May 2027)
Council of Ministers Resolution 70/2026 (National Data Centre Plan and Action Plan 2026-2027)	Portugal	In force since 14 April 2026 (adopted 19 March, published 13 April); the Action Plan is strategic guidance and does not frame project approvals	Government bodies; plan initiatives on data centre projects: AICEP as single investor contact, licensing review, pre-installed zones, reversibility and land-use safeguards to be required within the applicable legal framework	Plan covers 2026 and 2027; initiatives start S1 or S2 2026; no licensing instrument published
Decree-Law 85/2026, art. 6 (prior authorisation of State projects)	Portugal	Published 13 April 2026	Entities of the direct and indirect State administration and public companies (market-competing public companies excluded): projects in the national data centre infrastructure strategy need prior authorisation	The Commission decides within 10 working days
Energy Act of 16 Dec 2024 (EnerG), Art. 23, with the Art. 35 transition	Switzerland	In force since 1 Jan 2026; Art. 35 gives Art. 23 a one-year transition	New sites and existing sites after renewals. Canton of Schaffhausen. New buildings, and existing buildings after renewals, that cannot use more than 2 GWh of their waste heat themselves; the heat must be offered to third parties where technically possible and economically viable. The cantonal government says data centres are usually covered	1 Jan 2027 (end of the Art. 23 transition)
Energy Ordinance (EnerV), section 25a (efficiency of data centres)	Switzerland	In force since 1 Jan 2026	New sites and existing sites after renewals. Canton of Schaffhausen. Data centres under Art. 23 EnerG; PUE+ of 1.20 or less within 3 years of commissioning, or SDEA label at Gold level	No date published
Special Building Ordinance I (BBV I, LS 700.21), section 30a para 2 (waste heat to third parties)	Switzerland	In force since 1 Sep 2022; the cantonal government tells permit authorities to point to it, in an answer about a data centre (10 Jan 2024)	New sites and existing sites after cooling-plant renewal. Canton of Zurich. New buildings, and existing buildings after renewal of the cooling plant, that cannot use more than 2 GWh a year of the waste heat themselves; the heat must be offered to third parties at production cost	No date published
Energy Act (LEn, L 2 30), Art. 6 para 24, Art. 22B and Art. 22C, as amended by the law of 3 May 2024	Switzerland	In force since 29 Jun 2024; Council of State reply filed 3 Jun 2026 says data centres need no specific authorisation as such	Canton of Geneva. Server cooling counts as process cooling (Art. 6 al. 24) and needs a declaration of conformity before work (Art. 22B); installations producing heat rejects must have efficient heat recovery and use the heat on site or in the built environment, unless the department grants an exemption (Art. 22C)	No date published
Law 4342/2015, article 10A (data centre key performance indicators), inserted by article 46 of Law 5164/2024	Greece	In force since 12 December 2024 (Law 5164/2024, Government Gazette A 202 of 12 December 2024)	New and existing sites. Operators of data centres with installed IT power demand of at least 500 kW report the information and key performance indicators of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364 to the European database; operators at 1 MW or more must take account of the EU Code of Conduct best practices; centres used exclusively for defence and civil protection excluded. A ministerial decision is to set the compliance check and the competent authority	15 May 2027 (annual deadline 15 May)
Law 4442/2016, articles 320 to 328 (notification of operation of data centres), added by article 3 of Law 5069/2023; joint ministerial decision 96038 (procedure, fees and fines)	Greece	In force since 28 November 2023 (Law 5069/2023, Government Gazette A 193 of 28 November 2023); procedure set by joint ministerial decision 96038, Government Gazette B 7589 of 31 December 2024, effective two months after publication	Data centres serving third parties, in part or exclusively, with total nominal IT electrical power of at least 200 kW; data centres for own use only at 1,000 kW or more. Notification goes to the regional development service before operation starts; fee 500 to 4,000 euros by IT power band; fines 1,000 to 20,000 euros for failing to notify or giving false data	No date published
Law 4442/2016, articles 329, 330 and 333 (land use, building and fire classification of data centres), and Law 4759/2020 article 33 paragraph 3 point (i) as replaced by article 5 of Law 5069/2023 (building terms)	Greece	In force since 28 November 2023 (Law 5069/2023)	New and existing sites. All data centres: special land use category 21.A; maximum building coefficient 0.8, coverage 60%, side distances 10 m and volume coefficient 6. Centres with IT electrical power of 200 kW or more are treated as category I (industry) for building rules, smaller ones as offices. Standalone data centres, and data centres that wholly serve another business they share a building or site with, that were operating before 28 November 2023 must meet the article 330 building requirements within three years of entry into force	28 November 2026: deadline for standalone and in-house data centres operating before 28 November 2023 to meet the article 330 building requirements
Ministerial decision 17185/1069/2022, Annex XII, group 12, item 20 (environmental classification of data centres), and ministerial decision 82255/5190/2025 (standard environmental commitments for category B data centres)	Greece	In force since 29 July 2025 for the standard environmental commitments (Government Gazette B 4095 of 29 July 2025); classification set by the decision of 21 February 2022 (Government Gazette B 841 of 24 February 2022)	Data centres classified by installed electrical power P in MW: subcategory A2 at P of 20 MW or more; category B from 2 MW up to 20 MW, which files a declaration under the standard environmental commitments	No date published
Law 5160/2024 (NIS2 transposition), articles 6 and 19 (register of digital infrastructure entities)	Greece	In force since 27 November 2024 (Government Gazette A 195 of 27 November 2024)	New and existing sites. Data centre service providers in scope of the law (medium-sized enterprises and larger) must submit their registration details to the National Cybersecurity Authority; the statutory deadline for existing providers was 17 January 2025	No date published
Ministry of Environment and Energy bill on electricity market design (transposing Directive (EU) 2024/1711), data centre provisions	Greece	Draft published for consultation 10 October 2026, open until 24 October 2026; not yet before parliament	Grid applicants and new sites. Data centres connecting to the grid: investors bear the full cost of connection and of grid reinforcement caused solely by the data centre; guarantee of 200,000 euros per MW; turnover-based financial adequacy test for transmission-connected projects; stricter maturity criteria for a final connection offer; new data centres cover at least 60% of yearly electricity use from renewables; a Data Centre Register at the energy regulator	24 October 2026: public consultation closes
Federal Energy Efficiency Act (EEffG), section 72a with section 60(5) and (6), inserted by Federal Law Gazette I No. 29/2024	Austria	In force since 18 April 2024; fine in section 68(4) point 3(f) in force since 15 May 2025	New and existing sites. Owners and operators of data centres with installed IT electrical power of at least 500 kW: publish minimum data (location, floor area, installed power, data traffic, energy, waste heat, water and renewables indicators) on their website and report to the European data centre database; centres used exclusively for national defence and civil protection excluded; fine up to 20,000 euros	15 May 2027 (annual deadline 15 May)
Network and Information Systems Security Act 2026 (NISG 2026, NIS2 transposition), Annex 1 point 8 and sections 24 and 29, Federal Law Gazette I No. 94/2025	Austria	In force since 1 October 2026 (Federal Law Gazette I No. 94/2025, published 23 December 2025)	New and existing sites. Providers of data centre services, except services run and used exclusively by the entity itself: large undertakings are essential entities, medium-sized ones important entities; registration with the cybersecurity authority within three months of entry into force	No date published
Critical Entities Resilience Ordinance (RKEV), section 11 point 5, Federal Law Gazette II No. 91/2026	Austria	In force since 15 April 2026	New and existing sites. Operators of a data centre with installed IT electrical power of at least 5,000 kW meet the threshold for identification as a critical entity in the digital infrastructure sector; identification is by decision of the authority	No date published
Second Permit Exemption Ordinance under the Trade Act, section 1(1) point 11, inserted by Federal Law Gazette II No. 172/2018	Austria	In force since 7 July 2018	Data centres with no combustion installations, where combustion engines are kept only for emergency power, need no commercial plant permit; section 2 sets exclusions	No date published
Draft amendment of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act 2000 (138/ME), Annex 1 point 19a	Austria	Draft published for consultation 21 September 2026; consultation ends 1 November 2026	New sites. New construction of data centres with installed connection capacity of at least 100 MW would need an environmental impact assessment; new construction of at least 50 MW in protected areas of category D would need a case-by-case screening to decide whether an assessment is required; existing sites and extensions are not named	1 November 2026: consultation closes
Vienna Energy and Climate Law Implementation Act 2020 (WERUG 2020), sections 7, 8, 10 and 22, as amended by Vienna Provincial Law Gazette No. 28/2026	Austria	In force since 17 July 2026	New and existing sites. Vienna. Existing data centres with nominal total energy input above 1 MW must use their waste heat unless a cost-benefit analysis shows it is not technically or economically feasible; new builds and substantial upgrades above 1 MW need a cost-benefit analysis and a permit; fine up to 25,000 euros for operating without using waste heat	No date published
Upper Austria Energy Efficiency Act (Oö. EEffG), sections 11, 12 and 17, Provincial Law Gazette No. 29/2026	Austria	In force since 1 April 2026	New and existing sites. Upper Austria. Data centres with nominal total energy input above 1 MW must use their waste heat unless a cost-benefit analysis shows it is not technically or economically feasible; new builds and substantial upgrades above 1 MW need a cost-benefit analysis; fine up to 10,000 euros or twice the gain	No date published
Tyrol Energy Efficiency Act (TEffG), section 17, Provincial Law Gazette No. 21/2026	Austria	In force since 31 March 2026	New and existing sites. Tyrol. Existing data centres with nominal total energy input above 1 MW must use their waste heat unless a cost-benefit analysis shows it is not technically or economically feasible; new builds and substantial upgrades above 1 MW need a cost-benefit analysis and a permit; no permit is needed where the waste heat feeds a district heating network or is used on site	No date published
Burgenland Energy Efficiency Act (Bgld. EEG), sections 11 and 12, Provincial Law Gazette No. 105/2025	Austria	In force since 30 December 2025	New and existing sites. Burgenland. Data centres with nominal total energy input above 1 MW must use their waste heat unless a cost-benefit analysis shows it is not technically or economically feasible; new builds and substantial upgrades above 1 MW need a cost-benefit analysis	No date published
Vorarlberg Act on Operator Duties for Environmental Protection, section 12, as amended by Provincial Law Gazette No. 41/2026	Austria	In force since 18 September 2026	New and substantially upgraded sites. Vorarlberg. New builds and substantial upgrades of data centres with nominal total energy input above 1 MW must assess waste heat use and district heating connection in a cost-benefit analysis, unless the waste heat feeds a district heating network or is used in the data centre’s buildings; no use duty for existing sites	No date published
Lower Austria Spatial Planning Act 2014, sections 11c and 18c, Provincial Law Gazette No. 38/2026	Austria	In force since 9 June 2026	New sites. Lower Austria. Data centres using more than 0.5 ha may only be built in the zoning category Bauland-Sondergebiet-Rechenzentrum, with sites less than 500 m apart counted together; zoning above 3 ha only on land the state government has declared suitable by ordinance; zoning must secure sufficient electricity supply and consider waste heat use	No date published
Act LVII of 2015 on energy efficiency, section 21/F (data centre reporting), inserted by section 57 of Act LXXXVII of 2024; content of the report in Government Decree 122/2015, section 12/A and Annex 13	Hungary	In force since 16 January 2025 (Act LXXXVII of 2024, Hungarian Gazette no. 133 of 23 December 2024)	New and existing sites. Owners of data centres with at least 500 kW of installed IT power demand, or the operator where the owner does not run the site; covers server rooms and related equipment; military, national security, law enforcement and judicial data centres excluded. The energy regulator can fine up to HUF 1,000,000 for not reporting and up to HUF 100,000 for late reporting	15 May 2027 (annual deadline 15 May)
Act LXIX of 2024 on the cybersecurity of Hungary (NIS2 transposition), section 2(1)(c), section 4 point 7 and Annex 2 item 18 (data centre service providers)	Hungary	In force since 1 January 2025; section 2(1)(c) current text from Act XXXII of 2025, in force since 31 May 2025	New and existing sites. Data centre service providers with their main place of business in Hungary that are medium-sized enterprises or larger; they register with the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities within 30 days of coming into scope and must have a cybersecurity audit every two years. The first audit for providers operating before 1 January 2025 was due by 30 June 2026	No date published
Government Decree 474/2024 implementing the act on the resilience of critical entities, section 79 (data centre services)	Hungary	In force since 1 January 2025	New and existing sites. Data centres or server rooms needed to provide an essential service with yearly energy demand of 1,000,000 kWh or more can be designated critical infrastructure, and their operator a critical entity. Designation is by the authority, not automatic	No date published
Energy Efficiency Act (Narodne novine 155/2025), article 38 paragraphs 1 to 4 (data centre reporting); duty first created by the amending act in Narodne novine 40/2025	Croatia	In force since 15 March 2025 (Narodne novine 40/2025, published 7 March 2025); current text from the Energy Efficiency Act in force since 1 January 2026	New and existing sites. Operators of data centres in Croatia with installed IT power of 500 kW or more report to the European data centre database; they must notify the Ministry by letter if IT power falls below 500 kW; data centres for defence and civil protection excluded; fine 2,650 to 66,360 euros for a legal person (article 62)	15 May 2027 (annual deadline 15 May)
Energy Efficiency Act (Narodne novine 155/2025), article 38 paragraphs 5 and 6 (efficiency measures and waste heat priority)	Croatia	In force since 1 January 2026	New and existing sites. Operators of data centres in Croatia with installed IT power of 1 MW or more must carry out energy efficiency measures, give priority to waste heat use under the heat market rules and enter the measures in the national energy savings monitoring system; fine 2,650 to 66,360 euros for a legal person (article 62)	No date published
Heat Energy Market Act, article 15 paragraph 9 point 5, as amended by Narodne novine 67/2025; method in the cost-benefit analysis rulebook (Narodne novine 129/2025)	Croatia	In force since 17 April 2025 (Narodne novine 67/2025, published 9 April 2025); rulebook in force since 23 October 2025	New and significantly reconstructed sites. Data centres with total rated input power above 1 MW that are planned or significantly reconstructed under the construction law: cost-benefit analysis of waste heat use and connection to district heating or an efficient district heating and cooling system	No date published
Heat Energy Market Act, article 15 paragraph 14 (waste heat use), as amended by Narodne novine 67/2025	Croatia	In force since 17 April 2025 (Narodne novine 67/2025, published 9 April 2025)	New and existing sites. Data centres with total rated input power above 1 MW must use waste heat or other waste heat applications, unless they show under the cost-benefit analysis that this is not technically or economically feasible	No date published
Cybersecurity Act (Narodne novine 14/2024, NIS2 transposition), articles 4, 22, 23 and 26 (data centre service providers)	Croatia	In force since 15 February 2024 (published 7 February 2024)	New and existing sites. Data centre service providers established in Croatia: entered in the special register of the central cybersecurity authority and must supply their register data; those categorised as essential or important entities must apply risk management measures within one year of the categorisation notice	No date published
Emergency Ordinance 155/2024 on the cybersecurity of networks and information systems (NIS2 transposition), Articles 5, 6 and 18 and Annex 1, sector 8 (data centre service providers); approved with amendments by Law 124/2025	Romania	In force since 31 December 2024 (published that day in Monitorul Oficial no. 1332); current text from 6 July 2026	New and existing sites. Data centre service providers: essential entities if large enterprises, important entities if large or medium and not essential; must notify the National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC) for registration within 30 days of the ordinance applying to them; ANCOM is the sectoral cyber security authority for data centre service providers	No date published
Law 135/2007 on the archiving of electronic documents (republished 2014), Article 17 (prior authorisation of data centres)	Romania	In force since 25 May 2007 (published in Monitorul Oficial no. 345 of 22 May 2007); current text from 29 June 2024 (Law 201/2024)	Data centres in which electronic archives are stored; prior authorisation covering the integrity and security of the documents, the security of the space housing the equipment, and recovery of information after natural disasters	No date published
Cybersecurity Act, § 2 point 1, § 3(3) point 1 and § 3(4) point 8, as amended by the act of 10 December 2025 transposing NIS2	Estonia	In force since 1 January 2026	New and existing sites. Data centre service providers with 250 or more staff and a balance sheet above 43 million euros or turnover above 50 million euros are essential entities; those with 50 or more staff and a balance sheet or turnover above 10 million euros are important entities; providers already meeting the criteria have three years from the entry into force of § 3¹(1) to comply (§ 28¹(3))	No date published
Energy Efficiency Law No. XII-2702, Article 16(1) to (4), in the wording of Law No. XV-237 of 5 June 2025 (annual data centre reporting)	Lithuania	In force since 1 October 2025	New and existing sites. Operators of data centres with installed IT power demand of 500 kW or more: publish the listed indicators on their website and submit them to the EU data centre database; website publication waived where the data centre holds defence, civil protection or classified information; trade secrets go to the database but not the website; operators at 1 MW or more are recommended to follow the EU Code of Conduct	15 May 2027 (annual deadline 15 May)
Energy Efficiency Law No. XII-2702, Article 15(1) point 4, (3) and (4), in the wording of Law No. XV-237 (cost-benefit analysis for data centres)	Lithuania	In force since 1 October 2025	New sites and major refurbishments. Owners, future owners or developers of a planned new data centre, or of a refurbishment costing more than 50% of the investment for a new one of the same capacity, where electricity input capacity exceeds 1 MW; the analysis follows the Government’s procedure and covers using the waste heat, connecting to efficient district heating or cooling, other waste heat uses and cooling system options	No date published
Energy Efficiency Law No. XII-2702, Article 16(5), in the wording of Law No. XV-237 (duty to use waste heat)	Lithuania	In force since 1 October 2025	New and existing sites. New and existing data centres with more than 1 MW total rated power must use their waste heat, unless the Article 15 cost-benefit analysis shows it is technically impossible or economically impossible	No date published
Cybersecurity Law No. XII-1428, Article 2(7), Article 11(2) to (4) and Annex 1 point 8.1.5 (data centre service providers)	Lithuania	In force since 18 October 2024 (new wording by Law No. XIV-2902 of 11 July 2024); current text from 4 July 2026	New and existing sites. Data centre service providers: essential entities above the medium enterprise thresholds, important entities above the small enterprise thresholds; duties apply from registration in the Cyber Security Information System	No date published
Energy Efficiency Law, Article 12.1 (energy efficiency in data centres), added by the law of 20 March 2025	Latvia	In force since 18 April 2025	New and existing sites. Owners and operators whose installed IT infrastructure power demand in a single data centre is at least 500 kW on the last day of the calendar year; the data must also be published on their own website; data centres in critical infrastructure, those hosting ICT critical infrastructure systems and those used only for civil security and defence are excluded, but must report on the part serving other legal persons where that exceeds 500 kW	15 May 2027 (annual deadline 15 May)
National Cybersecurity Law, Article 1 point 2, Article 20 point 8(t) and Article 21(1) point 1 (data centre service providers)	Latvia	In force since 1 September 2024; current text from 18 June 2026	New and existing sites. Large data centre service providers are essential service providers; medium ones are important service providers	No date published
National Cybersecurity Law, Article 30, and Cabinet Regulation No. 602 of 29 September 2026 on information system hosting and data centre security	Latvia	In force since 1 October 2026 (Regulation No. 602); Article 30 in force since 1 September 2024	New and existing sites. Data centre operators hosting information systems of essential or important service providers or ICT critical infrastructure owners: compliance shown by an auditor’s opinion renewed at least every two years or by a listed certification; operators must tell the client within five working days of anything that may affect compliance and provide real-time telemetry on request; client entities must host in data centres in NATO, EU, EFTA or IP4 states	31 December 2026: entities already hosting Class A systems must notify the data centre operator and, if not compliant, prepare a compliance plan
Energy Efficiency Act, article 70a (public disclosure by data centres), created by paragraph 24 of the act amending the Renewable Energy Act (State Gazette 47 of 10 June 2025)	Bulgaria	In force since 10 June 2025 (State Gazette 47 of 10 June 2025; the amending act takes effect on publication)	New and existing sites. Owners and operators of data centres whose installed IT has a provided power above 500 kW disclose publicly each year the centre’s name, owner, operator, start date and municipality, floor area, provided electrical power, data traffic and data volumes, and its performance on energy use, power use, temperature set points, waste heat use, water use and renewable energy; the information goes to the European data centre database; defence and civil protection centres are excluded; from 1 MW of provided IT power the latest EU Code of Conduct best practices must be taken into account. The article sets no filing date	No date published
Cybersecurity Act, articles 4, 4a and 6 and Annex I sector 8 (digital infrastructure: providers of data centre services), as amended by the NIS2 transposition act (State Gazette 17 of 13 February 2026)	Bulgaria	In force three days after publication in State Gazette 17 of 13 February 2026 (the act sets no date of its own, so the Constitution’s three-day rule applies)	New and existing sites. Providers of data centre services that are medium-sized enterprises or larger; those above the medium-size ceiling are essential entities and the other Annex I types are important entities; data centre service providers give the competent authorities the address of their main place of establishment within two months (article 6(2))	No date published
Draft act amending the Energy Efficiency Act (transposing Directive (EU) 2023/1791), revised draft of 28 August 2026, paragraph 77: article 70a(3) annual filing by 15 May and new article 70a(5) waste heat use	Bulgaria	Draft. Put to public consultation by the Ministry of Energy on 24 July 2026 and revised on 28 August 2026; no sign in the sources checked that it has reached parliament	New and existing sites. Data centres with total rated input power above 1 MW would have to use waste heat or other waste heat recovery applications unless it is shown not to be technically or economically feasible; the annual filing to the European database would be due by 15 May	No date published
Act 69/2018 on cybersecurity as amended by Act 366/2024 (NIS2 transposition), section 2(2), section 17(1)(e) and Annex 1 (digital infrastructure: data centre service providers)	Slovakia	In force since 1 January 2025 (Act 366/2024; consolidated text read from 30 April 2026)	New and existing sites. Providers of a data centre service that are at least medium-sized enterprises are entered in the register of operators of an essential service (section 17(1)(e)); a provider without a seat in Slovakia can be entered too (section 2(2)); Annex 1 lists private-sector data centre service providers under digital infrastructure	No date published
Government bill on energy efficiency (parliamentary print 1475), section 13(1) to (3) and section 10(17) (data centre reporting); it would replace Act 321/2014	Slovakia	Government bill delivered to the National Council on 28 August 2026; at first reading the National Council referred it to committees, with 16 November 2026 as the lead committee’s deadline; it would take effect on 1 January 2027	New and existing sites. Operators of data centres with installed IT power above 500 kW register in the European data centre database, enter the Delegated Regulation 2024/1364 information there and send the data to the monitoring-system operator, with an annual data file due by 30 June; defence and civil protection data centres are excluded, and an operator is excused where giving the information would breach trade secrecy; failing to comply is an administrative offence with a fine of 20 to 5,000 euros (section 42)	16 November 2026: deadline set for the lead committee (Economic Affairs) to discuss the bill
Same bill (print 1475), section 13(5) (waste heat assessment) and section 42(1)(b)	Slovakia	Government bill delivered to the National Council on 28 August 2026; at first reading the National Council referred it to committees, with 16 November 2026 as the lead committee’s deadline; it would take effect on 1 January 2027	New and existing sites. Operators of data centres with installed IT power above 1 MW must carry out an economic and technical assessment of waste heat use in a centralised heat supply system, by energy audit; the bill sets no trigger such as a new build or substantial refurbishment; failing to do so is an administrative offence with a fine of 20 to 5,000 euros	1 January 2027: date the bill would take effect
Information Security Act (ZInfV-1), articles 6 and 7 and Annex 1 sector 8 (digital infrastructure: providers of data centre services); NIS2 transposition	Slovenia	In force since 19 June 2025 (Uradni list RS 40/2025 of 4 June 2025; in force on the fifteenth day after publication)	New and existing sites. Providers of data centre services with at least 50 staff and annual turnover or balance sheet total of at least 10 million euros are covered (article 6(1)); those with at least 250 staff, turnover of at least 50 million euros or a balance sheet total of at least 43 million euros are essential entities, the rest important (article 7)	No date published
Energy Efficiency Directive data centre duties, national transposition: new Energy Efficiency Act in preparation, to replace the Energy Efficiency Act (ZURE) of 2020	Slovenia	Not transposed. The 2024 draft act (ZURE-1, public consultation from 4 October 2024) was not adopted; the state legal register lists a new Energy Efficiency Act at the planning stage at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, with no text published; the 2020 Act, which holds no data centre duty, remains in force	New and existing sites. No national duty yet. The 2024 draft would have required owners and operators of data centres whose installed IT infrastructure power is above 500 kW to report to the European database each year by 15 May, and those above 1 MW to apply efficiency measures with priority to waste heat use; the new bill’s text is not published	No date published
Energy Efficiency Law 2009 to 2025, article 8 point (ιβ) (power to set data centre duties), added by Law 8(I)/2025; Energy Efficiency (Specification of the obligations of owners and operators of data centres with installed IT power demand of at least 500 kW) Order of 2025 (Κ.Δ.Π. 83/2025)	Cyprus	In force since 21 March 2025 (Order 83/2025, Official Gazette III 5933 of 21 March 2025, in force on publication); enabling power added by Law 8(I)/2025 (Official Gazette I 5027 of 21 February 2025)	New and existing sites. Owners and operators of data centres in Cyprus with installed IT power demand of at least 500 kW publish the Annex information (name, owner and operators, start date, municipality; floor area, installed power, data traffic and data volumes; performance in the last full calendar year on energy use, power use, temperature set points, waste heat use, water use and renewable energy, based on Delegated Regulation 2024/1364) by 30 April each year through an online platform named on the competent authority’s website; operators at 1 MW or more are urged to take the EU Code of Conduct best practices into account; defence and civil protection centres excluded	30 April 2027 (annual deadline 30 April, for the previous calendar year)
Network and Information Systems Security Law of 2020 as amended by Law 60(I)/2025 (NIS2 transposition), article 2A and Annex I sector 8 (digital infrastructure: providers of data centre services)	Cyprus	In force since 25 April 2025 (Law 60(I)/2025, Official Gazette I 5036 of 25 April 2025; in force on publication, with only article 7 of the amending law delayed)	New and existing sites. Providers of data centre services that are medium-sized enterprises or exceed the medium-size ceilings (article 2A(1)); smaller providers are caught only where a condition of article 2A(2), such as sole provider status or national importance, is met	No date published
Data Centres (Sustainability Reporting Obligations) Regulations, 2025 (S.L. 545.42, Legal Notice 271 of 2025), regulations 3 to 5 (public disclosure and European database reporting)	Malta	In force (Legal Notice 271 of 2025, published in the Government Gazette of Malta 21,545 on 28 November 2025; the regulations set no separate commencement date)	New and existing sites. Owners and operators of data centres in Malta with installed IT power demand of at least 500 kW (co-hosting, colocation and enterprise data centres) make the First Schedule information public and report to the European database; operators arrange to get data from colocation and co-hosting customers; defence and civil protection data centres excluded; the Regulator can impose an administrative penalty of up to 5,000 euros per breach and an offence carries a fine of up to 10,000 euros (regulations 8 and 10)	15 May 2027 (annual deadline 15 May)
Same Regulations, regulation 6 (waste heat use and cost-benefit analysis)	Malta	In force (Legal Notice 271 of 2025, published 28 November 2025); the use duty applies following 11 October 2025	New and existing sites for the use duty, new and substantially refurbished sites for the analysis. Data centre operators with a total rated energy input above 1 MW must use waste heat or other waste heat recovery applications unless they show it is not technically or economically feasible; the cost-benefit analysis is carried out whenever such a data centre is newly planned or substantially refurbished and its results go to the Regulator for Energy and Water Services within six months; data centres whose waste heat is used in a district heating network or on site are exempt	No date published
Measures for a High Common Level of Cybersecurity across the European Union (Malta) Order, 2025 (S.L. 460.41, Legal Notice 71 of 2025), articles 3 and 4 and First Schedule sector 8 (digital infrastructure: data centre service providers), as amended by Legal Notice 89 of 2026	Malta	In force since 23 January 2026 (commencement notice Legal Notice 22 of 2026; Order published in the Government Gazette on 8 April 2025)	New and existing sites. Providers of data centre services that are medium-sized enterprises or larger (in-house corporate data centres run by an entity for its own purpose are outside the definition); those above the medium-size ceilings are essential entities and the others in scope are important entities	No date published

Dates to watch

• 26 October 2026: House of Lords report stage of the United Kingdom’s Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which would regulate data centres from 1 MW rated IT load.
• 16 November 2026: deadline for the lead committee of Slovakia’s National Council to discuss the government’s energy efficiency bill, which would add data centre reporting from 1 January 2027.
• 14 December 2026: the EU Commission’s minimum performance standards consultation and call for evidence closes.
• 31 December 2026: deadline for existing data centres above 1 MW in Czechia to meet the waste-heat duty.
• 31 December 2026: Scottish Government due to report back to the Scottish Parliament on national planning guidance for hyperscale data centres.
• 1 January 2027: Germany’s EnEfG 100% renewable-electricity requirement takes effect, unless Drucksache 21/8027 passes first and moves it to 1 January 2030.
• 1 January 2027: the United Kingdom’s amended Climate Change Agreements regulations come into force and cover data facilities with an electricity supply of at least 200 kW.
• 1 January 2027: proposed entry into force of Sweden’s draft law on cost-benefit analysis and waste heat use for data centres above 1 MW, if it is adopted.
• 1 January 2027: proposed entry into force of Slovakia’s energy efficiency bill, with data centre reporting above 500 kW of installed IT power, if it is adopted.
• 1 January 2027: end of the transition for the waste-heat rule in Article 23 of the Energy Act of Schaffhausen, a canton of Switzerland.
• 1 July 2027: Germany’s EnEfG reused-energy share for new sites rises to 15% for data centres starting operation from this date.
• 1 July 2027: Germany’s EnEfG PUE ≤1.5 deadline for sites that started operating before 1 July 2026, unless Drucksache 21/8027 passes first.
• Second quarter of 2027: the EU Commission’s planned publication of its minimum performance standards legislative proposal.
• 1 October 2027: France’s cost-benefit analysis deadline for data centres with permits filed before 1 January 2026.
• 11 October 2027: EU deadline under Article 11 of the Energy Efficiency Directive for a certified energy management system at enterprises above 85 TJ (23.6 GWh) of annual energy consumption.
• 31 December 2027: first notices due to Finland’s Energiavirasto from existing data centres above 1 MW that use no waste heat.
• 1 July 2030: Germany’s EnEfG PUE ≤1.3 deadline for the same pre-mid-2026 sites, or 1.4 if the relaxing bill passes.

Every year: Germany’s register report is due by 31 March, Belgium’s Brussels-region report by 31 March, Cyprus’s data publication by 30 April, and the EU database and French reports by 15 May, each covering the previous calendar year.

European Union

Article 12 of Directive (EU) 2023/1791, the Energy Efficiency Directive, applies to every data centre in the EU with an installed IT power demand of at least 500 kW. It requires the operator to publish site information and key performance indicators every year. The operative mechanics sit in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364, which sets 7 identification items and 24 KPIs, submitted to the European database by 15 May each year, after a first cycle on 15 September 2024. Our EED reporting guide covers what to report and how the four sustainability indicators are calculated.

A second, separate threshold applies to waste heat. Article 26(6) of the same Directive requires data centres with a total rated energy input exceeding 1 MW to use their waste heat, unless a cost-benefit assessment shows that is not feasible. Total rated energy input is a whole-facility figure, not the installed IT power used for the reporting threshold, and the two should not be read as the same number.

A third duty reaches large operators through their whole energy use rather than a single site. Article 11 of the Directive requires Member States to make enterprises with an average annual energy consumption above 85 terajoules (23.6 gigawatt hours) over the previous three years, all energy carriers together, run an energy management system certified by an independent body against European or international standards. It must be in place by 11 October 2027. Enterprises above 10 terajoules that do not run such a system are subject to an energy audit, the first by 11 October 2026 and then at least every four years. National laws apply the threshold differently, and Germany’s is described below.

On 21 September 2026 the Commission adopted a delegated regulation establishing a common Union rating scheme for data centres, amending the 2024 Delegated Regulation. The Commission’s report COM(2026) 500 cites it as Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/7000; on 18 October 2026 it was not yet on EUR-Lex. It builds on the KPIs already reported and, in the Commission’s own words, will not involve any additional burden on Member States and data centre operators. It can be published only if neither the European Parliament nor the Council objects during scrutiny, which Parliament extended by two months on 6 October 2026. It would then enter into force on the twentieth day after publication in the Official Journal.

Minimum performance standards, the step beyond reporting and rating, do not exist yet. The Commission opened a public consultation and call for evidence on 21 September 2026, open until 14 December 2026, with a legislative proposal planned for the second quarter of 2027. The same-day report COM(2026) 500 calls the consultation the first step, to be followed by an impact assessment. No binding numbers have been set.

The Commission also adopted a proposal for a Cloud and AI Development Act on 3 June 2026, COM(2026) 502, now with the European Parliament and Council. It is not a data centre energy rule on its own. The Commission describes it as a measure that will reinforce energy-efficient data centre capacity, one strand of a broader cloud and AI sovereignty package.

For investors and operators reporting under the EU Taxonomy, the technical screening criteria for Activity 8.1, data processing, hosting and related activities, rely on the EU Code of Conduct for Energy Efficiency in Data Centres; the exact conditions are in Annex I of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139.

Germany

Germany’s Energieeffizienzgesetz (EnEfG) defines a data centre from 300 kW of non-redundant rated connection power, a lower bar than the EU’s 500 kW reporting threshold. Section 11 sets the PUE limits: sites that started operating before 1 July 2026 must reach a PUE of 1.5 or lower from 1 July 2027, and 1.3 or lower from 1 July 2030. Sites that start operating from 1 July 2026 must reach a PUE of 1.2 or lower and a reused-energy share of at least 10%. The share is set by the start-up date: a planned 15% for sites starting from 1 July 2027 and a planned 20% for sites starting from 1 July 2028. Each site has up to two years after start-up to meet the requirements as an annual average.

The same section requires operators to cover their electricity consumption with renewable energy: 50% from 1 January 2024, rising to 100% from 1 January 2027 under the law in force. Drucksache 21/8027, the amending bill described below, would move the 100% date to 1 January 2030 and give new sites four years instead of two to reach their reuse share. It has not been adopted.

Section 12 requires every operator to set up an energy or environmental management system by 1 July 2025. Validation of that system became mandatory from 1 January 2026 for data centres of 1 MW or more, and for publicly owned or operated sites of 300 kW or more. IT operators running equipment inside someone else’s data centre face the same validation duty above 500 kW, or 300 kW for public bodies.

Section 13 sets a standing annual reporting deadline of 31 March each year, covering the previous calendar year, feeding into the national Energieeffizienzregister für Rechenzentren under Section 14, which in turn passes the data to the European database.

A bill to relax the Section 11 PUE limits to 1.6 from 2027 and 1.4 from 2030, Drucksache 21/8027, had its first reading in the Bundestag on 24 September 2026 and was referred to the Committee for Economics and Energy, which held a public hearing on 5 October 2026, with nine experts heard over an hour and a half. No date for the committee report or the final vote had been published by then. It is a proposal, not law. The figures in force today remain 1.5 and 1.3. The bill is dated 16 September 2026. It also changes Section 8, the general energy management system duty for enterprises: it raises the annual energy threshold from 7.5 to 23.6 gigawatt hours, in line with Article 11 of the Directive, and sets 11 October 2027 for enterprises that passed the threshold by the end of 2025.

France

Articles L236-1 to L236-3 of the Code de l’énergie set France’s data centre duties. L236-1 requires annual reporting from data centres with at least 500 kW of installed power, assessed at the level of the operator’s SIRET business registration number, with the report due by 15 May each year for the preceding calendar year.

L236-2 requires waste-heat valorisation from data centres with at least 1 MW of installed power. Décret n° 2025-1382 du 29 décembre 2025 sets the operating detail: an Energy Reuse Factor of at least 0.20 is deemed to satisfy the duty, a threshold the government can raise to as much as 0.40 by ministerial order. Data centres with permits filed before 1 January 2026 have until 1 October 2027 to complete a cost-benefit analysis of using their waste heat.

L236-3 sets fines of up to €50,000 per data centre for non-compliance.

Ireland

Ireland’s Commission for Regulation of Utilities, the CRU, published a decision on 12 December 2025 covering new data centres applying to connect to the electricity grid. According to the CRU, data centres seeking a new connection will be required to provide on-site or near-site dispatchable generation or storage matched to their requested import demand, and to match at least 80% of their annual electricity demand with additional renewable-electricity projects. The decision paper sets how these duties scale with the size of the requested connection.

Netherlands

The Netherlands restricts where new hyperscale data centres can be built. An instruction rule added to the Besluit kwaliteit leefomgeving by a decree of 20 December 2023, Staatsblad 2023, 492, prevents Dutch municipalities from accommodating new hyperscale data centres in their environment plans, except in two designated areas: part of the municipality of Het Hogeland in Groningen, and the Agriport locations in Hollands Kroon, Noord-Holland. A hyperscale data centre here is one with a built floor area of more than 10 hectares and an electrical connection capacity of 70 MW or more; both must be met (Bkl article 5.161ba). The rule has applied since 1 January 2024. On 31 August 2026 the government said a tightening of the criteria is being explored within a national data-centre approach due this autumn; no legal proposal exists yet. For a site search across borders, our data-centre siting cost map ranks European countries by modelled electricity cost and carbon emissions.

Italy

Italy’s Decree-law of 20 February 2026, no. 21, converted with amendments by Law of 10 April 2026, no. 49, sets a single authorisation procedure for data centres in Article 8. It covers building, expanding and operating enterprise, colocation and co-hosting data centres as defined in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364, and their grid connection works at any voltage. The authority that issues the integrated environmental authorisation decides in one procedure of no more than ten months, extendable by up to three months in exceptional cases. Article 8 sets no power threshold. The conversion law entered into force on 19 April 2026.

Spain

Spain has a draft Royal Decree, not adopted, on sustainability, resilience and digital sovereignty requirements for data centres. The public hearing ran from 27 August to 10 September 2026. As drafted, it applies to data centres with at least 1 MW of access power that seek grid access and connection permits, including applications already filed but not yet granted. They must reach class A on the EU scale, set for now at a PUE of 1.15 or lower and a WUE of 0.1 or lower. They must also pass one of two renewable tests. In the general case, self-generation or renewable power purchase agreements from recently commissioned plants cover 80% of consumption, and renewable output matches at least 80% of consumption in each hour. Where the national renewable share exceeds 90%, a cap on the hours a site may draw from the grid applies instead. Data centres with 500 kW of IT power or more would also report energy and water data to the ministry each year, for publication. The decree would enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official State Gazette. No approval date is published.

Norway

Norway’s Energy Act (energiloven), section 7-2, already requires a cost-benefit analysis of surplus heat use when planning a data centre with more than 2 MW of total supplied electrical power. The Ministry must approve it before construction starts. The Storting passed amendments on 26 May and 2 June 2026, now Law of 19 June 2026 no. 38. They drop the data centre exemption from the building ban, extend the analysis to substantial upgrades and bar building or substantially upgrading without using surplus heat where benefits exceed costs. They apply from a date the King sets; none is set. Separately, the Electronic Communications Act and the data centre regulation require operators to register with Nkom, and duties added from 1 July 2026 include customer records and a representative in Norway.

Sweden

Sweden’s Act (2025:570) requires owners or operators of data centres with an installed IT power demand of at least 500 kW to report energy performance data to the EU database every year. It has applied since 1 July 2025. Security-sensitive, defence and crisis-preparedness data centres are exempt, and orders may carry a conditional fine. On 20 August 2026 the Government referred a draft law to the Council on Legislation. It would require a cost-benefit analysis for new or substantially upgraded data centres above 1 MW, and waste heat use or recovery where feasible. Entry into force is proposed for 1 January 2027, and no proposition is listed yet. The electricity tax reduction for data halls ended on 1 July 2023.

Finland

Finland’s Energy Efficiency Act, section 29 e, requires a data centre with total power above 1 MW to use its waste heat. An existing one that uses none must show by cost-benefit analysis that use is not feasible; first notices to Energiavirasto are due by 31 December 2027. Section 27 b requires one before building or significantly upgrading such a site. Owners or operators of data centres with at least 500 kW of installed IT power must publish their province (section 29 f). Since 1 July 2026 data centre electricity pays the class I energy tax of 2.24 cents per kWh, not the class II 0.05. Two member bills on grid connection and impact assessment are before Parliament.

Denmark

Denmark requires operators of data centres with installed IT power of 500 kW or more to report to the EU database by 15 May each year (order 926 of 2024). Order 1167 of 2025, in force since 11 October 2025, requires data centres above 1 MW of nominal energy input to use surplus heat unless a cost-benefit analysis approved by the Danish Energy Agency shows this is not feasible. Order 892, published 15 October 2026 and in force since 19 October 2026, puts data centres in category 4, the last of four grid priority categories. Grid companies must refuse category 3 and 4 connection requests where capacity is limited and higher priorities would be displaced.

Poland

Poland has set up no national reporting system for data centres. Operators with at least 500 kW of IT power demand report directly to the EU database by 15 May each year. A 2023 act on the National Data Processing Centre covers only the state’s own facility. Draft UC77, an amendment of the Energy Efficiency Act, would require owners and operators above 500 kW to publish energy performance information; adoption by the Council of Ministers was planned for the third quarter of 2026 and is not yet recorded. Draft UC121, an Energy Law amendment, would oblige data centres above 1 MW to use waste heat unless not technically or economically feasible, according to the government work list.

United Kingdom

The Infrastructure Planning (Business or Commercial Projects) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 have applied since 8 January 2026. They let the Secretary of State direct a data centre project in England into the nationally significant infrastructure regime, with no size threshold in the text. Wapseys Wood, Ampthill Road in Bedford and Dartford were directed in 2026. The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill would regulate data centres of 1 MW rated IT load or more, or 10 MW for a site serving only its owner, under Ofcom; Lords report stage is on 26 October 2026. Ofgem proposes a commitment fee of GBP 237,500 to 712,500 per MW for connections of 40 MW or more, with decisions due later in 2026. In Scotland, the Parliament agreed motion S7M-01177 on 16 September 2026 by 80 votes to 26 with 15 abstentions. It is not legislation. It calls on the Scottish Government to define a hyperscale data centre, issue national planning guidance and report back by the end of 2026, and it says no decisions on planning or consenting should be made until that guidance is complete.

Belgium

Belgium sets data centre energy rules by region. Flanders requires owners and operators of data centres with at least 500 kW of installed IT power to report through the European data centre database every year by 15 May, under article 7.8/1.1 of the Energy Decree. The duty has applied since 27 May 2024, in its current form since 7 May 2026. Operators at 1 MW or more must also take account of the EU Code of Conduct best practices. The Flemish Energy Agency can fine a failure to report between 500 and 10,000 euros. Brussels applies the same 500 kW threshold, with a 31 March deadline since 1 April 2024. Wallonia states a 500 kW annual duty on its public service page, citing the Energy Efficiency Directive rather than a Walloon decree.

Czechia

Czechia regulates data centres in section 9c of Act 406/2000 on energy management, in force since 1 January 2024 and amended from 1 August 2025. Operators of data centres above 500 kW report to the European database by 15 May each year and tell the Ministry within 2 months of reaching 500 kW. Builders and owners of centres above 1 MW must use the waste heat, unless that is infeasible or costs exceed benefits. Building such a centre, or raising its power by more than 25 percent, needs an energy assessment unless the waste heat is used. Existing centres above 1 MW have until 31 December 2026. Fines reach 5,000,000 CZK.

Portugal

Portugal’s Decree-Law 84/2024 applies to data centres with at least 500 kW of installed IT power. Owners and managers must publish energy, water and waste heat indicators on their website by 15 May each year and send them to DGEG. Fines reach EUR 40,000 for legal persons. Council of Ministers Resolution 70/2026, published on 13 April 2026, approves a National Data Centre Plan. Its Action Plan is strategic guidance and does not frame project approvals; it lists a licensing review starting in the first half of 2026, and no licensing instrument has followed. State bodies need prior authorisation for data centre strategy projects. The exceptional grid procedure for requests above 20 MVA does not name data centres.

Switzerland

Switzerland has no federal duty specific to data centres; federal law sets efficiency requirements for devices such as servers, and the cantons set the rules for buildings and large consumers. The Federal Council says a federal waste heat duty appears not possible for lack of constitutional competence. Schaffhausen’s Energy Act, Art. 23, requires buildings that cannot use more than 2 GWh of their waste heat to offer it to third parties where feasible, with a transition to 1 January 2027; its ordinance requires data centres to reach PUE+ 1.20 within three years, or SDEA Gold. Zurich requires such waste heat to be offered at production cost. Geneva classes server cooling as process cooling and requires heat recovery. Motion 26.4166, tabled on 16 September 2026, asks for federal rules on disclosure, efficiency, renewable supply and waste heat.

Greece

Greece regulates data centres mainly through Law 5069/2023, in force since 28 November 2023: a centre serving third parties needs a notification before it operates from 200 kW of IT power (1,000 kW for own use), building and fire rules follow the same 200 kW line, and standalone or in-house centres that were already running have until 28 November 2026 to meet them. Operators with at least 500 kW of installed IT power must also report to the European database every year, under a duty in force since 12 December 2024. A bill put to public consultation on 10 October 2026 would make data centres pay their full grid connection and reinforcement costs, post a guarantee of 200,000 euros per MW and cover at least 60% of yearly consumption from renewables for new sites.

Austria

In Austria the federal rule is reporting, and waste heat is a matter for the nine states. Since 18 April 2024, owners and operators of data centres with at least 500 kW of installed IT power must publish their energy data and report to the European database by 15 May each year under section 72a of the Federal Energy Efficiency Act, with fines of up to 20,000 euros. Vienna, Upper Austria, Tyrol, Burgenland and Vorarlberg have since 30 December 2025 set waste-heat use duties or cost-benefit analysis duties for data centres above 1 MW of nominal total energy input, and Lower Austria has required a dedicated zoning category for sites above 0.5 ha since 9 June 2026. A federal draft published on 21 September 2026 would require an environmental impact assessment for new data centres from 100 MW of installed connection capacity.

Hungary

Hungary’s data centre rules sit in its energy efficiency and security laws. Since 16 January 2025, the owner of a data centre with at least 500 kW of installed IT power demand, or the operator where the owner does not run it, must report to the European database by 15 May each year under section 21/F of Act LVII of 2015, and the energy regulator can fine up to HUF 1,000,000. Data centre service providers of medium size or larger have been in scope of the national cybersecurity act since 1 January 2025, and a data centre with yearly energy demand of 1,000,000 kWh or more can be designated critical infrastructure. No national waste-heat duty or grid connection rule naming data centres was found.

Croatia

Croatia has written both EU data centre duties into national law and added one of its own. Since 17 April 2025, data centres with total rated input power above 1 MW must use their waste heat unless a cost-benefit analysis shows it is not technically or economically feasible, and the analysis is required when such a centre is planned or significantly reconstructed, under the amended Heat Energy Market Act. Operators with 500 kW or more of installed IT power must report to the European database by 15 May each year, and since 1 January 2026 those at 1 MW of IT power or more must also carry out efficiency measures and give priority to waste heat use. Fines for these energy efficiency duties run from 2,650 to 66,360 euros for a company.

Romania

Romania has no national data centre energy rule yet: its Energy Efficiency Law 121/2014, in the text consolidated to 8 August 2026, contains no data centre reporting or waste heat duty, and we found no other act transposing them. The duties that name data centres today come from security law. Under Emergency Ordinance 155/2024, in force since 31 December 2024, data centre service providers are a listed digital infrastructure sector: large providers are essential entities, medium ones important, and they must notify the national cyber security directorate for registration. Separately, data centres that store electronic archives need prior authorisation under the electronic archiving law of 2007.

Estonia

Estonia has not yet enacted the EU data centre reporting duty. The rule in force today is cyber security: since 1 January 2026 the Cybersecurity Act classes data centre service providers with 250 or more staff and more than 43 million euros of balance sheet or 50 million euros of turnover as essential entities, and smaller providers with 50 or more staff and more than 10 million euros of balance sheet or turnover as important entities. A government bill to transpose the Energy Efficiency Directive was sent for inter-ministerial coordination on 3 August 2026.

Lithuania

Lithuania obliges data centres to use their waste heat. Since 1 October 2025 the Energy Efficiency Law requires data centres with more than 1 MW of total rated power to use their waste heat unless a cost-benefit analysis shows this is technically or economically impossible, and requires that analysis for every planned new data centre above 1 MW of electricity input capacity, or a refurbishment costing over 50% of a new one. Operators of data centres with 500 kW or more of installed IT power must publish their energy indicators on their website and send them to the EU database by 15 May each year. Data centre service providers are also a named sector under the Cybersecurity Law, in force in its NIS2 wording since 18 October 2024.

Latvia

Latvia puts data centre duties in two laws. Since 18 April 2025 the Energy Efficiency Law requires owners and operators of a data centre with at least 500 kW of installed IT infrastructure power demand on the last day of the year to report to the European data centre database by 15 May and to publish the same data on their own website. Since 1 October 2026 Cabinet Regulation No. 602 sets security requirements, two-yearly audits and operator duties for data centres that host systems of entities covered by the National Cybersecurity Law, which also classes large data centre service providers as essential. We found no Latvian rule on data centre waste heat.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria already has a data centre disclosure duty. Since 10 June 2025, article 70a of the Energy Efficiency Act applies to data centres with more than 500 kW of provided IT power. Their owners and operators must disclose energy data each year. The data goes to the European database. From 1 MW, operators must take the EU Code of Conduct best practices into account. Data centre service providers also fall under the NIS2 changes to the Cybersecurity Act. They were published on 13 February 2026 and, under the Constitution, took effect three days after publication. A Ministry of Energy draft, put to public consultation on 24 July 2026 and revised on 28 August 2026, would set 15 May as the filing date. Above 1 MW of total rated input power, it would also require waste heat use unless that is not technically or economically feasible. The draft’s explanatory note says the Commission opened infringement case 2025/0299 on 21 November 2025 for late transposition of the Directive.

Slovakia

Slovakia has no data centre energy rule in force yet. The Energy Efficiency Act 321/2014 has no data centre provision, and the Directive’s transposition deadline of 11 October 2025 has passed. A government bill delivered to the National Council on 28 August 2026 (print 1475) would add one from 1 January 2027. Operators above 500 kW of installed IT power would register in the European database. They would send an annual data file by 30 June. Operators above 1 MW would assess waste heat use in district heating through an energy audit. The rule in force today is cyber security. Data centre service providers are named in Act 69/2018, as amended by Act 366/2024 from 1 January 2025.

Slovenia

Slovenia has not yet put the Directive’s data centre duties into law. The 2020 Energy Efficiency Act (ZURE) is still the act in force, and it holds no data centre duty. A ministry draft of a new act (ZURE-1) went to public consultation on 4 October 2024. Under it, data centres above 500 kW would have reported each year by 15 May. Those above 1 MW would have applied efficiency measures, with waste heat use first. In January 2026 the government planned adoption by parliament in June 2026. That draft was not adopted. The state legal register now lists a new Energy Efficiency Act at the planning stage, with no text published. The rule in force today is cyber security. Since 19 June 2025 the Information Security Act (ZInfV-1) lists providers of data centre services.

Cyprus

Cyprus put the Directive’s data centre reporting duty into a ministerial order. Law 8(I)/2025 of 21 February 2025 gave the Minister the power. Order 83/2025 has been in force since 21 March 2025. Owners and operators of data centres with installed IT power demand of at least 500 kW must publish their energy performance data every year by 30 April. That is about two weeks before the European deadline of 15 May. Data centre service providers also fall under the NIS2 law, Law 60(I)/2025, in force since 25 April 2025.

Malta

Malta put the Directive’s data centre articles into the Data Centres (Sustainability Reporting Obligations) Regulations, published on 28 November 2025. They cover data centres with installed IT power demand of at least 500 kW. Owners and operators publish their data and report to the European database by 15 May each year. Above 1 MW of total rated energy input, operators must use their waste heat unless that is not technically or economically feasible. A cost-benefit analysis is due whenever such a site is newly planned or substantially refurbished. The Regulator for Energy and Water Services can impose penalties of up to 5,000 euros per breach. Data centre service providers are also in scope of the NIS2 order, in force since 23 January 2026.

What this means for an existing air-cooled site

Take a German site that started operating in 2020 and runs an annual PUE of 1.55 today. Under the law in force, it has until 1 July 2027 to bring that down to 1.5, and until 1 July 2030 to reach 1.3. If Drucksache 21/8027 becomes law before those dates, the targets loosen to 1.6 and 1.4, but nothing in force today lets the operator plan around a bill that is still in committee.

Our containment and liquid cooling worked case sets out how far each retrofit actually moves an existing hall’s PUE. The reporting duty applies regardless of which jurisdiction’s efficiency targets a site is chasing: any EU site with at least 500 kW of installed IT power reports to the European database every 15 May, whether or not it also answers to Germany’s stricter national rules.

To see the four ratios for one of your own sites, the EED KPI calculator does the arithmetic in your browser and gives you a CSV ledger to keep with your evidence.

If you are shortlisting between cities, the five-market comparison sets Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Zurich, Madrid and Helsinki side by side on power cost, grid carbon, climate for cooling and these rules.

How this register is kept

As of 18 October 2026 the register holds 113 rules for the EU and 29 European countries. Each row rests on the official text itself: EU law on EUR-Lex, national gazettes and legislation databases, parliaments, ministries and regulators. Those bodies are linked under Sources at the foot of this page.

A rule is included when it names data centres or reaches them through a stated threshold. That covers energy reporting, efficiency limits, waste-heat reuse, grid connection, planning and cyber security. Drafts and bills are included once a government, ministry or parliament publishes them.

The status follows the legal text and its official publication. A rule counts as in force from the date the text sets, which can come days after it is published. The next date in each row is the next step that the text or the responsible body has set. We recheck each date as it falls due, and the whole register at least once a month.

When we correct a row, the fix is made on this page at the same address and listed with its date in our corrections log. To report an error, write to [email protected].

Sources: 32 official bodies, checked 18 October 2026

Canton of Schaffhausen, Codex Vlaanderen (Flemish legislation), CRU (Irish regulator), Darzhaven vestnik (Bulgarian State Gazette), Deutscher Bundestag, Diário da República, e-Sbírka (Czech Collection of Laws), EUR-Lex (Official Journal of the EU), European Commission, Finlex (Finnish legislation), Gazzetta Ufficiale, Gesetze im Internet (German federal law), Government of Poland, Greek Government Gazette (FEK), Legislation Malta, legislation.gov.uk, Likumi.lv (Latvian legislation), Lovdata (Norwegian law), Légifrance, MITECO, Narodne novine (Croatian official gazette), Nemzeti Jogszabálytár (Hungarian legislation), Officiële bekendmakingen (Dutch official gazette), PISRS (Slovenian legislation), Retsinformation (Danish law), Riigi Teataja (Estonian State Gazette), RIS (Austrian federal law), Romanian Ministry of Justice legislation portal, Scottish Parliament, Seimas of Lithuania, Slov-Lex (Slovak legislation), Sveriges riksdag.