A provisional document of the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union calls on the European Commission to prepare a legislative proposal that addresses the obstacles to the integration of the electricity market and the offshore wind energy grid at EU level. This document, which was sent to Member States on Monday 31 August, is a draft set of conclusions for the next meeting of EU energy ministers.
According to the German Presidency, the further integration of the internal energy market, in particular through the development of infrastructure and the strengthening of interconnections between Member States, is necessary to “integrate greater volumes of renewable energies into the European electricity market”.
For Berlin, the Commission's legislative proposal should also aim to encourage investment in large-scale hybrid projects throughout the Union, i.e. energy projects that combine offshore production and transport assets, with infrastructure operating conventionally as separate entities.
The German authorities further suggest asking the Commission to present another initiative to improve the use of EU funds to facilitate the implementation of cross-border renewable energy projects by strengthening the financing of the main EU instruments.
The text mentions in particular the financing line for cross-border renewable energy projects under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) 2021-2027, the EU Renewable Energy Facility (see EUROPE 12481/10) and the new InvestEU component for strategic European investments.
In addition, the paper recommends revising the State Aid framework to bring it in line with the directives and regulations of the Clean Energy Package, the EU's climate and energy objectives for 2030 and the objective of climate neutrality by 2050.
This framework should also support the deployment of renewable energies, ensure investor security and public acceptance and promote research and innovation, the draft conclusions stress.
Lastly, the Presidency wants to emphasise the importance of a holistic approach to the use and management of maritime space, in order to ensure in particular environmental protection and public acceptance of offshore energy projects and thus facilitate the coexistence of multiple uses of the sea.
The national delegations of the Member States will present their views on these draft conclusions at the meeting of the Energy Working Group on 15 September.
See the draft conclusions: https://bit.ly/3lMKarH (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)