EC earmarks €9.1 bn for improving energy infrastructure

The European Commission (EC) intends to allocate €9.1 bn to energy projects in the 2014-2020 period, reported Reuters, citing a draft document, to be considered by Brussels. EC wants to get additional powers allowing it to reject objections and accelerate energy projects that are strategic for the community. The funds are less than 1% of the EU budget for the period, but it is for the first time that they include costs for energy infrastructure. Under certain conditions, it is possible to ignore public objections against the projects if these are important enough, the draft document stipulates. The Nabucco gas pipeline, which is expected to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas supplies, is currently viewed as such a project. Therefore, some of the measures are aimed exactly at improving the gas infrastructure of the countries and connecting the different networks. The EU incentives will also be spent on a common offshore electricity grid in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea region.

The document projects the creation of a new position within the EC structure - a European coordinator of the energy projects, which are of particular importance to the community. However, the document does not specify how the European coordinator will report on the projects to EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger. The new measures are expected to become a means of attracting funds from the private sector for the construction of electricity and gas infrastructure, added Reuters.

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