The European Parliament adopted by 410 votes to 146, with 72 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure and repealing Regulation (EU) No 347/2013.
The European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure amends the Commission's proposal as follows:
The Regulation lays down guidelines for the development and interoperability of the trans-European energy infrastructure corridors and priority areas set out in Annex I which contribute to:
- ensuring climate change mitigation, in particular to achieve the Union's 2030 energy and climate objectives and its objective of climate neutrality by 2050, and
- ensure interconnections, energy security, market and system integration, competition that benefits of all Member States and affordable energy prices.
The regulation provides for the identification of projects of common interest and projects of mutual interest (projects promoted by the EU in cooperation with third countries) on the EU list. It will also facilitate the implementation of EU-listed projects by streamlining, coordinating more closely and speeding up permit granting procedures, as well as increasing transparency and public participation.
Members supported funding for projects related to the development of hydrogen infrastructure and carbon capture and storage. The revised TEN-E framework will encourage investment in hydrogen and CO2 networks and the development of offshore networks.
The revised framework provides for, inter alia:
- ending support for new natural gas and oil projects and introducing mandatory sustainability criteria for all projects. The Union will have to facilitate energy projects in disadvantaged, less connected, peripheral, outermost or isolated regions in order to provide access to trans-European energy networks to accelerate the decarbonisation process and reduce dependency on fossil fuels;
- include in the scope of the Regulation projects of mutual interest, where they are sustainable and demonstrate EU-wide benefits;
- simplify and speed up permitting and authorisation procedures, including the creation of a single contact point per project for permits and authorisations. Projects that are no longer on the list of projects of common interest, but for which an application has been accepted for examination
by the competent authority, will be able to retain their rights and obligations in terms of quicker granting process;
- to allow, during a transitional period until 31 December 2029, the use of hydrogen assets converted from natural gas assets to transport or store a predefined mixture of hydrogen with natural gas or biomethane. The eligibility of these projects for EU financial support will end on 31 December 2027;
- in the case of Cyprus and Malta, which are still not interconnected to the trans-European gas network, to allow one interconnector per Member State under development or planning which has been granted the status of a project of common interest and which is necessary to ensure the permanent interconnection of Cyprus and Malta to the trans-European gas network. The derogation will apply until Cyprus or Malta, respectively, is directly interconnected to the trans-European gas network or until 31 December 2029;
- include in the scope of the Regulation certain types of electrolysers with a capacity of at least 50 MW, supplied by a single electrolyser or by a group of electrolysers which form a single coordinated project and which contribute to sustainability. Electrolysers will not be eligible for funding;
- highlight the role of energy from renewable sources in relation to all assets, including smart gas grids;
- create a non-binding cooperation possibility in the field of offshore grid planning;
- add an explicit reference to Article 136 of the EU Financial Regulation, which lists the situations in which a person or entity is excluded from being selected to receive EU funding, such as fraud, corruption or conduct relating to criminal organisations;
- strengthen the TEN-E governance process by enhancing the role of relevant stakeholders. The consultation should be open and transparent and should be organised in a timely manner to allow for stakeholders’ feedback in the preparation of key phases of the Union-wide ten-year network development plans, such as the scenario development, infrastructure gaps identification and the cost-benefit analysis methodology for project assessment. The ENTSO for Electricity and the ENTSO for Gas should give due consideration to the input received from stakeholders during consultations and should explain how they took that input into account.