As the European Commission presents its proposed list of ‘projects of common interest’ (PCIs) to the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) on Thursday 11 November, the presence of gas projects among the shortlisted candidates is already attracting criticism.
Established every two years through the adoption of a delegated act, the list of CIPs consists of a number of European cross-border energy infrastructure projects that meet the EU’s criteria to become eligible for certain benefits, in particular the possibility of receiving EU funds.
The fifth list that the Commission will unveil on Thursday, obtained by EUROPE, includes electricity interconnection projects, hydroelectric power plant projects... but also projects related to fossil gas.
While the exact number of gas projects on the list will have to wait for the Commission’s clarification, Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) and Food & Water Action Europe have identified 30 projects with a total value of €13 billion (the number depends on whether the projects are counted individually or in clusters). This has raised the ire of these environmental NGOs who, along with a hundred other organisations, recently called on the Commission to exclude all fossil fuel projects from the list of CIPs (see EUROPE 12828/5).
“Continuing to support fossil gas is completely out of step with the reality of the climate emergency that is already devastating lives around the world”, said Colin Roche, Climate Justice Coordinator for FoEE
According to the two NGOs, by supporting the construction of gas pipelines, the Commission is also taking the risk of further exposing the EU to energy price crises.
“We are in the middle of a gas crisis and the UN climate negotiations (COP26 - see other news), yet the Commission’s ‘priority’ today is to increase dependence on fossil fuels!” said Frida Kieninger, Campaigner at Food & Water Action Europe.
Lack of transparency.
These criticisms are shared by the Green/EFA Group in the European Parliament.
Like two NGOs, MEPs Jutta Paulus (Germany) and Marie Toussaint (France) also regretted a lack of transparency in the selection of projects, on Wednesday 10 November, during an online press conference.
“This list of CIPs has been drawn up according to a very opaque methodology [...] No independent assessment can really be made, because it is not known how the Commission has made its calculations”, Paulus said, referring to a recent analysis by the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER - see EUROPE 12826/17).
According to our information, the Commission plans to adopt the list on 19 November. Changes could therefore still occur between its presentation to the ITRE committee and its adoption, Toussaint stressed.
It will then have to be approved by the Parliament and the Council of the EU. They do not have the power to amend it, as it is a delegated act.
Last year, the adoption of the fourth list of CIPs gave rise to heated debates in Parliament, already because of the presence of gas projects (see EUROPE 12424/6, 12417/7).
See the list of PICs proposed by the Commission: https://bit.ly/3bYJg7H (Damien Genicot)