The member-states of the European Union have agreed to allocate EUR 647 million to support key priority energy infrastructure projects, it was announced Wednesday.
The bulk of the support goes to gas projects in the Baltic region as well as in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe. Funding will come from an EU program called the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
"The supported projects will increase Europe's energy security and help end the isolation of Member States from EU-wide energy networks. They will also contribute to the completion of a European energy market and the integration of renewables to the electricity grid," the Commission said in a statement.
Most of the money will directly or indirectly finance gas projects. Besides the construction of new pipelines, these gas projects also include terminals to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Baltic region, Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe.
Innovative technologies in electricity will also be co-financed. These include a feasibility study for a 700 km long subsea high-voltage direct current cable between Norway and the United Kingdom and a smart grids project on the border of Ireland and the UK (Northern Ireland).
A number of projects supported have been identified as key security of supply projects in the European Energy Security Strategy of May 28, 2014. The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) provides funding for those projects that have clear benefits beyond national borders and are commercially not viable or not affordable to users in certain Member States.
The grants under CEF can finance up to 50% of the eligible costs of actions. However, in exceptional circumstances - when an action clearly benefits security of supply, strengthens solidarity between Member States or enables highly-innovative solutions - up to 75% of the costs for works can be covered by the facility.
The European Commission proposal was supported by the CEF Coordination Committee, which consists of representatives from Member States. Later this year, the Commission will formally adopt the list of proposals which will receive financial assistance under CEF-Energy.
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