Member States shall decide after having calculated the cost-optimal requirement levels both for a macroeconomic and for a financial perspective, which one is to become the national benchmark and report this decision to the Commission as part of the reporting mentioned pursuant to Article 6.

Member States shall compare the outcome of the calculation chosen as the national benchmark referred to in Article 3 with the current energy performance requirements for the relevant building category.

Member States shall use the result of this comparison to ensure that minimum energy performance requirements are set with a view to achieving cost-optimal levels in accordance with Article 4(1) of Directive 2010/31/EU. Member States are strongly recommended to link fiscal and financial incentives to compliance with the cost-optimal calculation outcome of the same reference building.

If a Member States has defined reference buildings in such a way that the result of the cost-optimal calculation is applicable to several building categories, they may use this result to ensure that minimum energy performance requirements are set with a view to achieving cost-optimal levels for all relevant building categories.