Kadri Simson, the European Commissioner for Energy, could not avoid the delicate subject of the future of gas and, in particular, projects of common interest (PCI), on Thursday 23 January, during a discussion on the European Commission’s energy priorities with the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE).
While the fourth list of PCIs was approved the day before by the ITRE Committee (see EUROPE 12409/10), Robert Hajšel (S&D, Slovakia), for example, called on the Commission to carry out an independent study to determine whether the decision to invest in new gas infrastructure is a wise choice in view of the EU’s climate ambitions.
It must be said that this issue is very divisive among members of Parliament.
Some, like Christian Ehler (EPP, Germany), believe this investment is necessary so that gas can play a transitional role in enabling some Member States to move away from coal. They furthermore argue that this new gas infrastructure can be used in the future to transport “cleaner” gases, such as hydrogen produced from renewables.
On the other hand, some MEPs, such as Niels Fuglsang (S&D, Denmark), believe that the EU’s current gas infrastructure is already sufficient to allow gas to play a transitional energy role (see EUROPE 12407/21). They believe that financing new gas projects risks tying the EU to gas for decades, even though it is a fossil fuel.
Asked by Mr Fuglsang and Marie Toussaint (Greens/EFA, France) about the process of drawing up the fifth PCI list, Ms Simson announced that this process had already begun, but that the fifth list will take into account an update of the sustainability criteria which should be ready by 2020.
Ms Toussaint also called for more transparency and cooperation with Parliament when drawing up the list of PCIs, in particular regarding the role of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (Entsog) in this respect.
Commission priorities. With regard to the Commission’s energy priorities, the Commissioner wishes to focus first and foremost on improving energy efficiency.
In cooperation with local decision-makers in the Member States, she intends to triple the current rate of renovation, targeting social housing in particular, in order to tackle the fuel poverty that currently affects more than 50 million people in the EU.
In order to facilitate the integration of renewable energy in all parts of the energy sector, the Commissioner will present “a strategy for smart sector integration” by June 2020.
Ms Simson wishes “to replicate the success of decarbonisation of electricity in the gas sector”. To this end, she will work to ensure that clean gases have a significant presence in the EU gas sector.
In addition, the Commission intends to present a proposal by the end of the year to review the regulatory framework for energy infrastructure through the Trans-European Energy Network (TEN-E) Regulation.
According to Ms Simson, “this updated framework should foster the use of innovative technologies and infrastructure, such as smart grids, hydrogen networks or carbon capture, storage and utilisation, energy storage and also enable sector integration”.
While Ms Toussaint and Mr Fuglsang welcomed the announcement, Ms Martina Dlabajová (Renew Europe, Czechia) felt that the revision should come sooner.
Finally, the Commission will work on the presentation of a strategy on offshore renewable energy and on the implementation of the Clean Energy Package for all Europeans, which was welcomed by several MEPs such as Maria da Graça Carvalho (EPP, Portugal). (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)