Thursday

28th Mar 2024

MEPs vote to support gas in cross-border projects rules

  • It is estimated that new EU gas projects could emit, annually, as much carbon dioxide as all Germany's coal plants (Photo: gazprom.ru)
Listen to article

MEPs in the energy committee on Tuesday (28 September) reached a common position over the revision of the controversial TEN-E regulation, which governs funding for energy infrastructure - paving the way for negotiations with member states to agree on a final law.

The TEN-E rules define which cross-border energy infrastructure projects in the EU are eligible for public funds and fast-tracked permits - under the so-called Projects of Common Interest (PCI).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

MEPs agreed that all gas projects from the 4th or 5th list of PCIs should be eligible for a fast-track authorisation procedure, but excluded from receiving funding under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

Green and left-wing lawmakers voted against this compromise.

And British NGO Global Witness warned that MEP's position amounts to little more than "window dressing", as PCI projects have traditionally received more money from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Investment Bank than they have from the CEF.

"The key is that PCI projects are mandated to gain preferential treatment," Jonathan Gant, a campaigner from Global Witness, told EUobserver.

There are 32 gas projects under the 4th list. The 5th list, which is not yet approved, includes 74 gas projects. According to Global Witness analysis, the new gas projects under the 5th list could emit yearly as much carbon dioxide as all coal plants in Germany.

The European Parliament's position is at odds with the approach of the European Commission and national governments, which have already agreed to end subsidies for all, or almost all, fossil-fuel projects.

Last year, the European Commission proposed to exclude all dedicated support for oil and gas infrastructure under the TEN-E regulation - in a bid to align a key piece of energy policy with its Green Deal's objectives.

For their part, EU energy ministers agreed in June that all fossil-fuel support should be scrapped from the new rules, except for two major pipelines - namely the EastMed pipeline, designed to link Israel and Cyprus to Greece, and the Melita pipeline, connecting Libya to Malta and Italy.

MEPs, meanwhile, also proposed funding projects until at least 2027 in which existing gas infrastructure is modified to mix hydrogen with natural gas - a process known as 'blending'.

While this idea mirrors the approach of national energy ministers, EU lawmakers have set out stricter obligations on the infrastructure operator to force them to convert to fully hydrogen by the end of 2029.

The vote in the parliament comes amid a global surge of energy prices - with gas and electricity bills rising to historic levels across EU member states in the last few months.

Lead MEP Zdzisław Krasnodębski (European Conservatives and Reformists), from coal-dependent Poland, argued that, apart from the general sustainability criteria, energy projects still have to be evaluated based on "their contribution to energy security, market integration and affordability for end-users".

However, green groups warned that the result of the vote fails to end EU support for fossil fuels, sending the wrong political signal ahead of the so-called "gas package" expected in December.

"The trilogue negotiations will give the co-legislators the last chance to fix the proposal and enable the EU to pivot to cleaner energy infrastructure, in line with the climate targets," said Elisa Giannelli, from NGO E3G.

If there is an objection from a political party in the parliament's October session, Krasnodębski's report will be then voted by the whole plenary later this year - postponing negotiations with the EU Commission and member states.

It is estimated that gas companies and trade associations have spent around €300m lobbying the EU since 2010.

Lead energy MEP silent on gas meetings before vote

NGO watchdogs have slammed the MEP leading the energy committee's work on the controversial revision of EU rules for funding major energy projects for refusing to disclose his meetings with gas lobbyists, ahead of a crucial vote next week.

EU ambassadors divided over prolonging gas funding

EU ambassadors have failed to reach an agreement over whether cross-border natural gas projects should continue to receive EU funding, under the TEN-E regulation, which is currently under revision.

'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told

Italian central banker Piero Cipollone in his first monetary policy speech since joining the ECB's board in November, said that the bank should be ready to "swiftly dial back our restrictive monetary policy stance."

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us