When, in the early 90s, the SAVE programme provided the initial funding for the MURE project, its main objective was to establish a database of Rational Use of Energy (RUE) measures and policies in the EU member states, to serve as permanent, dedicated information basis and monitoring tool. Since then, and thanks to further substantial funding from the Intelligent Energy for Europe programme as well as national funding, MURE has grown into a full fledged policy support system, allowing to build and run energy efficiency scenarios at the national and European level. It is now recognised as a unique tool providing full coverage of national and European RUE policies (as well as a variety of renewables policies) and allowing for Europe-wide, across-country comparisons and analyses.

MURE is a useful tool for the ex-ante evaluation of RUE measures and policies. It is extensively used to evaluate the technical and economic energy savings potentials of national and European policies based on the promotion of energy efficient and renewables technologies in all end-use sectors (households, transport, industry and the services sector). MURE feeds into the debates on energy strategies and the diffusion of Best Available Technologies (BAT) at the EU and national levels.