On Friday 19 November, the European Commission adopted the fifth list of priority cross-border energy infrastructure projects in the European Union, known as ‘projects of common interest’ (PCIs).
Built on the basis of criteria established by the EU Regulation (347/2013) on Trans-European Energy Networks (TEN-E), the list consists of 98 projects: 67 in the field of electricity transmission and storage, 20 in the field of gas, six CO2 network projects, and five smart grid projects.
The PCI status allows these projects to become eligible for certain benefits, including simplified authorisation and regulatory procedures, as well as the possibility of receiving EU financial support under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
The fifth list must nevertheless be approved in advance by both the European Parliament and the EU Council within two months of its adoption by the Commission (this process can be extended by a further two months, if the co-legislators so request).
However, MEPs expressed serious reservations about the list on Thursday 11 November when it was presented to Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) (see EUROPE 12831/11). French MEP Marie Toussaint (Greens/EFA) has already called on her colleagues to reject it, saying it is contrary to the EU’s climate objectives because of the presence of gas projects among the proposed PCIs.
For its part, the Commission defends itself by arguing that the proposed list does not include any new gas infrastructure projects compared to the previous list.
It considers that the selected gas projects - which were already on the fourth list of PCIs - “are necessary to ensure security of supply of all Member States”.
The institution also points out that a “strengthened sustainability assessment” of projects has led to the removal of “a number of gas projects” from the list.
Revision of the TEN-E Regulation
It should be noted that the TEN-E Regulation is currently being revised. A third round of negotiations between Parliament and the EU Council (‘trilogue’) is due to take place in Strasbourg on 23 November, with a view to reaching an agreement between the two institutions.
While compromises have been reached on some issues (see EUROPE 12834/4), major divisions remain between the EU Council and Parliament, stressed MEP Claudia Gamon (Renew Europe, Austria) on Thursday 18 November at an online event on the PCI list. She expressed serious doubts that an agreement could be reached in the upcoming trilogue.
See the list: https://bit.ly/3x25OhL (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)