The Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU announced on Wednesday 17 June, following a meeting of the Member States’ delegations (Coreper I), that it would prepare a seventh compromise text on the ‘networks’ package ahead of the ‘Energy’ Council to be held on 26 June.
The objective remains to reach a political agreement in principle before the end of the Cyprus Presidency on the two texts in the package presented by the European Commission on 10 December last year (see EUROPE 13770/4): a revision of the regulation on the Trans-European Energy Network (TEN-E) and a directive on accelerating the process for the granting of permits.
Agence Europe has seen the changes introduced by the Member States to TEN-E.
Tacit approval of authorisation procedures, both for the overall decision and for the intermediate stages, has become optional, as has the establishment of a digital portal for these procedures. Some of the time limits in the authorisation procedure have also been extended.
Central scenario maintained. The central scenario may be adopted by an implementing act, but this must take account of national and regional specificities, as well as the national energy and climate plans. Furthermore, the Member States will have a right of scrutiny over the data and assumptions, and planning will have to be carried out in close cooperation with network operators via ENTSO.
Several Member States have called for a new category relating to the security, resilience and repair of existing electricity infrastructure. It is further specified that “the Commission must ensure the proportionate use of this category so that sufficient funding remains available for all the policy objectives of the regulation”. This is a safeguard at a time when some countries want stronger protection for critical infrastructure.
Congestion income. With regard to congestion income, the notion is that it will be allocated progressively: 10% in the first year, with an increase of 5 percentage points each year in order to reach a figure of 25%. Internal congestion income or income collected before the regulation enters into force is not taken into account.
The allocation of the funds may “finance alternative projects pursuing the same objective as the projects on the Union list, provided that no sufficiently advanced project is available”.
Despite the adjustments that have been introduced by Cyprus in the sixth compromise text, Sweden—for whom the use of congestion income for projects of common or mutual interest represents a real red line (see EUROPE 13829/13)—says that it “is continuing to work to find a solution”. (Original version in French by Nadège Delépine)