In an opinion prepared by Andrés Barceló Delgado (Employers Group, Spain) and adopted during the plenary session on 18-19 April, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) formulated a range of recommendations to tackle the shortcomings in the EU interconnection networks and help the member states reach the 10% objective set out at an EU level for electricity production interconnection capacity by 2020 and 15% by 2030.
The causes of these shortcomings (complicated administrative procedures, political implications, underfunding and lack of public support) were not tackled adequately and could therefore compromise reaching these objectives by 2030, explained Mr Delgado.
The EESC is calling for better quality analyses to be carried out: it advocates the introduction of a follow-up indicator for interconnection percentages for each geographic zone (such as the Iberian Peninsula) in addition to a percentage indicator for national interconnections.
The committee is also requesting that indicators are taken into account that monitor price differences between the retail markets in order to prioritise implementation of projects of common interest (PCI) in the energy infrastructure field where these projects are strongest.
The Commission and member states will also have to carry out regular controls of the results obtained by drawing up biannual reports on the renewable energy development targets and national and transnational networks.
The EESC also wants civil society to play a proactive role in the interconnection project conceptualisation phases in an attempt to mitigate the misgivings about certain projects.
It is also calling for an upward revision of the financial resources available in an effort to support cross-border electricity interconnection projects in the EU. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)