Energy, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Good for Business, Legislation

The main idea of the present Commission’s call for projects is to contribute to end energy isolation and to eliminate energy bottlenecks that prevent the completion of the European internal energy market. This EU’s investment will act as a catalyst for securing additional financing from private and public investors.

With a total amount of €650 million for grants foreseen in 2015, this is the second of the two calls scheduled for this year. The deadline to submit applications is 30 September 2015. A decision on the selection of proposals to be funded is expected at the end of this year.

Background

The legal basis for this call for proposals is the Connecting Europe Facility Regulation (Regulation 1316/2013). The conditions under which projects are eligible for financial aid are laid down in the Regulation on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure (Regulation 347/2013).

The first call for proposals under CEF Energy was organised in 2014. The first grants have now started and altogether will invest €647 million of the EU's budget into key energy infrastructure projects.

The completion of the internal energy market and the improvement of European energy infrastructure are key building blocks of the Energy Union strategy, launched by the Juncker Commission in February 2015.

EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete underlined that a well-connected and reliable energy networks were crucial for creating a resilient EU energy union. The EU funds will help to ensure a secure, affordable and sustainable energy for all Europeans and businesses. 

Energy union has been a key priority for the Juncker Commission, he added, and the Commission intends to make European public money to support targeted and meaningful investments.

Applying for grants

In order to apply for a grant, a project has to be on the list of 'projects of common interest'. A first list was adopted by the European Commission in October 2013. It consists of 248 key energy infrastructure projects which, when completed, would ensure significant benefits for at least two participating member states in order to enhance security of supply, to contribute to market integration as well as to increased competition and sustainability. Commission will update the list at the end of 2015.

Total EU financing for energy infrastructure under the CEF is €5.35 billion for the 2014-2020 period. The bulk of this money will go to grants, whereas a part of this amount will be dedicated to setting up financial instruments for infrastructure development. These grants will contribute to carrying out both scientific studies and practical works. However, proposals for works can only receive grants if the project will deliver significant benefits in a macro-regional context, such as security of supply, solidarity between member states or innovation. However, the projects cannot have a commercial priority, in the first place.

In general, the amount of EU support cannot exceed 50 per cent of the eligible costs for both studies and works. In exceptional cases, when a project contributes significantly to the security of supply, enhances energy solidarity between EU member states or offers highly innovative solutions, EU support may be increased to a maximum of 75 per cent of the costs for works.

The first call for proposals in 2015 under CEF Energy closed on 29 April. An indicative amount of €100 million was made available for infrastructure projects. The selected proposals to receive funding will be known by mid-July.

More information on the issue:

·         DG Energy website: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/infrastructure;

·         CEF Energy 2015 second Call for Proposals: https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/connecting-europe-facility/cef-energy/apply-funding/cef-energy-second-call-proposals-2015;

·         Innovation & Networks Executive Agency (INEA): http://inea.ec.europa.eu;

·         Fact sheet: Financing trans-European energy infrastructure – the Connecting Europe Facility

General reference: European Commission, Press release “Internal energy market: Commission releases €550 million for cross-border European networks”, Brussels, 30 June 2015. In:

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-5281_en.htm?locale=en