On Monday 15 December, the European energy ministers adopted their position on the ‘Connecting Europe Facility’, which aims to support infrastructure projects (energy and transport) in Europe as part of the EU’s future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2028-2034 (see EUROPE 13683/3).
This agreement is partial, as it keeps any amount proposed by the European Commission in square brackets. On 16 July, the Commission proposed an increased total budget of more than €81 billion (compared with €33.71 billion for the 2021-2027 MFF). The envelope dedicated to energy amounts to €29.91 billion (compared with €5.84 billion previously) (see EUROPE 13683/3).
During the debate before the final vote, the European Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jørgensen, called on the ministers to support the increased amounts as part of the negotiations on the new MFF.
Although some countries pointed out that improvements were needed to the proposal, in particular to encourage the modernisation of existing electricity networks, they all voted in favour of the partial agreement, with the exception of Hungary, which abstained.
On the transport front, the EU Council’s compromise strengthens the provisions on military mobility, and also extends, in an annex, the indicative list of projects of common interest (PCIs) with a cross-border dimension.
In the section on energy, the final text stresses the links between strengthening the internal network and cross-border interconnection capacity. It also specifies that the Commission must pay particular attention to projects of common and mutual interest when adopting work programmes in the energy sector.
To see the text: https://aeur.eu/f/jz9 (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)