Energy - consultation on Projects of Common Interest
The Commission launches public consultation on the proposed list of Projects of Common Interest in energy infrastructure.
> Connecting Europe Facility – Energy, forthcoming calls 2016
The consultation on the third list of projects submitted to the European Commission as potential Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) was launched yesterday and will remain open for 12 weeks. To receive PCI status, a project must be considered essential for completing of the European internal energy market and for reaching the EU's energy policy objectives of affordable, secure and sustainable energy. The Regulation on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure foresees that the PCIs list shall be updated every two years. The first Union-wide list was adopted in October 2013 and the second list was adopted in November 2015. The new list will be drawn up by the end of 2017 and the public consultation is an important part of the selection process.
The public consultation asks respondents to give their views on whether the submitted projects significantly contribute to energy market integration, sustainability, security of supply and competition in Europe and are therefore essential from an EU energy policy perspective. It will remain open until 19 June 2017.
Projects retained as PCIs are eligible for financing under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - a total budget of €5.35 billion is made available for energy projects for the 2014-2020 period, of which €4.7 in the form of grants managed by INEA.
The CEF Energy programme provides funding to infrastructure projects in electricity, natural gas and smart grids with the aim to better interconnect energy networks towards a single energy market in Europe. The programme supports the key objectives of the Energy Union by promoting further integration of the internal energy market, enhancing security of energy supply and integrating energy from renewable sources into the network.
Photo credit: Foter.com
