The reservations of many members of the Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) regarding the fourth list of projects of common interest (PCI) (see EUROPE 12351/11) still seemed to be present on Thursday 5 December, following an exchange of views with the new European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson.
The issue: the number of gas projects on the list, considered far too numerous by several MEPs.
Like Nicolás González Casares (S&D, Spain), many MEPs fear that this list will make it possible to finance projects which, under the pretext of being used to transport carbon-free gases such as hydrogen, will in fact turn out to be infrastructure that does not contribute to achieving the neutrality objective by 2050.
Trying as best she could to defend the list, the Commissioner kept repeating that the number of gas-related projects had decreased from 53 to 32 compared to the previous list. In addition, according to her, gas will have to play a transitional role in the coming years, specifically in order to guarantee a secure supply.
Regarding the fifth list, Mrs Simson confirmed that she would ensure that sustainability assessments for proposed gas projects would be significantly improved. She also wants to integrate more energy transition projects into the PCI process, “especially smart grids, CO2 infrastructure projects, as well as more innovative projects”.
Adopted on 31 October 2019 by the European Commission, the list of PCIs provides a number of advantages for key cross-border energy infrastructure projects. Since it is part of a delegated act, MEPs initially had 2 months from the date of the list’s adoption, i.e. until 31 December, to decide whether to accept or oppose it.
However, given the controversial nature of this list, the ITRE Committee recently decided to extend the review period by a further 2 months. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)