EU common energy interest projects update marks first year of ‘Energy Union’

A revised list has been drawn up to make a total of 195 key energy infrastructure projects that will form key building blocks of the EU’s ‘Energy Union’. The projects will also help to bolster Europe’s energy and climate objectives. The list of ‘Projects of Common Interest’ (PCIs) will benefit from accelerated permitting procedures and improved regulatory conditions, and may also be eligible for financial support from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

The infrastructure projects will enable the gradual build-up of the Energy Union by integrating energy markets in Europe, and by diversifying energy sources and transport routes, says the European Commission.

European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Arias Cañete said: ‘Europe's energy transformation will require investments worth billions in strategic infrastructure. This list of projects will help ensure that our funds serve our goal of securing clean and affordable energy for Europeans.’

A budget of €5.35bn has been allocated to trans-European energy infrastructure under the CEF from 2014–2020, with an aim of helping PCIs get implemented faster and making them more attractive to investors.

The announcement on PCIs was accompanied by the Commission’s first State of the Energy Union Report. Maroš Šefčovič, European Commission Vice-President responsible for Energy Union, said that a year after the strategy was launched things were on track, but much remained to be done.

Since the adoption of the first PCI list in 2013, 13 projects have been completed or will be commissioned before the end of 2015. Around 62 projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2017.

The list of PCIs is updated every two years with the aim to integrate newly needed projects and remove obsolete ones.

The State of the Energy Union report was accompanied with supporting studies including guidance documents for Member States. However, those looking for concrete detail on progress will have been disappointed – the report says that 2016 will be the year of delivery on Energy Union.

Responding to the report, European electricity association EURELECTRIC’s Secretary General, Hans ten Berge said: ‘The Energy Union should be viewed as a renewed opportunity for Member States to coordinate their national policies and pool resources, delivering secure, competitively priced and sustainable energy for citizens and businesses within an integrated EU energy market.’

The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) welcomed detail in the report that has brought some clarity around how the European Commission will ensure that EU Member States take action to reach the bloc’s combined 27% renewable energy target by 2030 – it says that if necessary the Commission will introduce measures and policies to complement actions by Member States.