Despite a meeting lasting more than eight hours ending just after 4am on Tuesday 14 September, the various political Groups in the European Parliament were unable to finalise all the compromise amendments to the draft report by MEP Zdzisław Krasnodębski (ECR, Poland) on the revision of the EU Regulation (347/2013) on Trans-European energy networks (TEN-E).
The issue of gas, which has been a stumbling block in the negotiations, has still not been resolved. While the Greens/EFA want to exclude everything related to fossil gas from the Regulation, including the blending of hydrogen with methane, the ECR and EPP Groups are defending a compromise amendment to keep fossil gas in the Regulation for the time being (see EUROPE 12788/14).
Nevertheless, some compromise amendments could be finalised.
Regarding blending of hydrogen with methane, the Groups would agree to follow the position of the EU Council (see EUROPE 12739/1). This category of projects would thus be included in the TEN-E Regulation with a transitional period until 31 December 2029.
This means that, during this period, cross-border blending projects could be eligible for ‘project of common interest’ (PCI) status under the TEN-E Regulation and thus potentially benefit from a number of advantages, such as European funding through the ‘Connecting Europe Facility’ (CEF). However, the deadline for funding projects would be 31 December 2027.
The compromise that emerges would also allow for the possibility of financing infrastructure dedicated to the transport and storage of CO2.
“Given the small size of the CEF and the exorbitant costs of CCS (carbon capture and storage), it would be a waste of public money”, said Marie Toussaint (France), shadow rapporteur for the Greens/EFA Group.
According to information gathered by EUROPE, the different Groups have also accepted the proposal of the Greens/EFA and Renew Europe to create a new project category for heating and cooling systems.
In addition, the negotiators agreed on the issue of governance, i.e. the selection procedure for PCIs. In particular, the compromise amendments provide for a monitoring role for the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change established by the ‘Climate Law’ (see EUROPE 12703/1).
Regarding the timetable, a final meeting between Mr Krasnodębski and the shadow rapporteurs of the different Groups could take place on Wednesday 15 September, the final date for the submission of alternative compromise amendments. At the time of going to press, however, this had still not been confirmed.
The draft report is due to be voted on by the Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) on 27 September, with a view to a vote by all MEPs at one of the October plenary sessions (probably the second session). (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)