At their sectoral Council meeting on Tuesday 15 December, the European energy ministers will debate the future ‘European Grids Package’, which is due to be presented by the European Commission on 10 December (see EUROPE 13755/19).
The Danish Presidency of the EU Council is therefore seeking to identify the main priorities and strategic objectives, with a view to the forthcoming negotiations between Member States.
They are therefore invited to give their opinion on the following question: “What are your key priorities for implementing of the European Grids Package?”
As indicated by the Danish Presidency, the package will include legislative and non-legislative measures to tackle “bottlenecks” such as permitting procedures for grids, renewables, storage and recharging stations, security considerations, cross-border infrastructure, planning processes, and investment challenges.
Among the other items on the agenda of the meeting, the ministers will attempt to reach a partial agreement (‘general approach’) on the regulation for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), for which the Commission recently proposed an increased budget from €5.84 billion to €29.91 billion.
In addition, an exchange of views is also planned with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the link between energy and security.
The Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, is also expected to attend a working lunch devoted to Europe’s security of energy supply and competitiveness “in a changing energy landscape”.
Finally, Cyprus, which will take over the Presidency of the EU Council on 1 January 2026, will outline its energy policy priorities. The country has already indicated that grids will be included.
To see the agenda: https://aeur.eu/f/js7
To see the working document on the European Grids Package: https://aeur.eu/f/js8 (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)