Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) approved, by a large majority on Wednesday 2 February, the European Commission’s draft delegated act establishing the fifth list of priority cross-border energy infrastructure projects in the European Union, known as ‘projects of common interest’ (PCIs).
PCI status gives these projects a number of advantages, including the possibility of fast-track authorisation procedures and becoming eligible for European funding under the ‘Connecting Europe Facility’.
The presence of gas projects in the Commission’s proposed list (see EUROPE 12836/3) had therefore angered some MEPs who refuse to grant EU funds to fossil gas (see EUROPE 12831/11).
A group of 18 MEPs consisting of all members of the Greens/EFA and The Left groups, three members of Renew Europe, one member of the S&D group and three Non-attached members voted to reject the delegated act. The rest (57 votes) supported the delegated act.
Next steps
The fifth list will now be put to a vote by all MEPs.
While the date has not yet been confirmed, the vote is expected to take place during the Parliament’s first plenary session in March, a source told EUROPE.
On the EU Council side, Member States have until the end of March to oppose the delegated act. This is unlikely to happen, however, as it would require a reversed reinforced qualified majority (at least 20 states representing at least 65% of the EU population).
As this is a delegated act, MEPs and Member States do not have the power to amend the list. They can only reject or approve it.
In contrast to this list, the next (sixth) list will be defined according to new criteria set out in the revised EU Regulation (347/2013) on Trans-European Energy Networks (TEN-E), which is expected to be formally adopted by the co-legislators very soon (see EUROPE 12877/9).
See the results of the vote: https://aeur.eu/f/4m (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)