Brussels, 19/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - By amending the draft regulation on trans-European energy infrastructure, the energy committee at the European Parliament is paving the way for negotiations with the Council. The Cypriot Presidency is determined to bring the file to a close by the end of 2012.
On Tuesday 18 September, the European Parliament's energy committee adopted by 49 votes for, 1 against and 6 abstentions, the report by Antonio Correira de Campos (S&D, Portugal) amending the draft regulation on trans-European energy infrastructure, proposed at the end of 2011 by the Commission (see EUROPE 10477). The MEPs also approved a mandate with a view to negotiations with the Council, by 55 votes in favour and one against. The vote on the Parliament's final resolution will take place after these negotiations.
The draft “infrastructure” regulation aims to strengthen the coordination and to accelerate the development work of the projects linked to energy infrastructure (gas pipeline networks and power grids). It rests on a proposal of 12 European priority corridors and areas in urgent need of development. Based on these pre-defined corridors, projects of European interest would be selected for financing and faster building permits. Regional groups of experts, set up for each corridor, will be tasked with selecting the projects of European interest, with the advice of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). The energy committee has particularly strengthened the rules of governance for the regional expert groups to increase their transparency. It has also defined more clearly which commercially non-viable projects should be entitled to EU funding from the Connecting Europe Facility, a new financial levering mechanism proposed by the European Commission, which earmarks €9.1 billion for energy projects out of a total envelope of nearly €50 billion. This funding, the energy committee states, should promote the further integration of the internal energy market and interoperability of electricity and gas networks, enhance the EU's security of energy supply and contribute to a sustainable development and protection of the environment.
One-stop shop. The infrastructure regulation also provides for establishing a one-stop shop to coordinate and accelerate the granting of all building permits necessary for projects of European interest - the idea being to reduce to a minimum the time between the start of planning and the final commissioning of an energy infrastructure, currently often over ten years. The energy committee supports the idea of limiting the time to 5 years maximum for the granting of building permits.
The day before the parliamentary committee vote, an orientation debate between the European energy ministers, meeting in Nicosia, allowed progress to be made on questions linked to the draft text, to bring about - by the end of the Cypriot Presidency next December - an agreement with the Parliament. In particular, the ministers examined questions on priorities for financing and projects offering the strongest value added, on the regulatory management and the rationalisation of procedures for granting permits, on the role of regional groups in the selection of projects of common interest. Member state opinions should help the Presidency finalise its negotiating mandate to conclude the negotiations with the Parliament as quickly as possible. Attached to breaking the energy isolation of the most vulnerable member states - especially those that are islands - the Cypriot Presidency, which is making a priority of this file during its time at the helm of the EU, is determined to obtain an agreement by December. (EH/transl.fl)