EU Member States agreed in July on a proposal from the European Commission to allocate EUR 150 million to key trans-European energy infrastructure projects. The bulk of the support will go to projects in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe as well as to projects in the Baltic region. In total, 20 projects were selected following a call for proposals under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), an EU funding programme for infrastructure.

The European Commission said in a press release that the selected projects would increase 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 renewable energy sources into the electricity grid.

Of the 20 projects, 11 (worth a total of EUR 80 million) are in the gas sector and nine projects (worth a total of EUR 70 million) are in the electricity sector. In the electricity sector, the agreed list includes feasibility studies for the Celtic interconnector which will link France and Ireland – two previously unconnected markets – through a long-distance subsea cable.

The construction of a new 400 kV internal transmission line in Bulgaria will also benefit from CEF financial assistance. Support will also be given to the construction of the Lithuanian part of the Litpol Link, which will integrate the power system of Lithuania and those of other Baltic states further into the grid of continental Europe, thereby helping to increase the interconnection levels of both Poland and the Baltic states.

Commenting on the decision, European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete said that the completion of a truly competitive EU-wide energy market was essential in order to turn the Energy Union into a reality. “But without reliable and well-connected energy networks this will not happen. This is why we are investing in projects to integrate the market further and to diversify sources and routes, in particular in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe as well as in the Baltic region," he said.

Click here for a list of the projects selected for funding.

For more information:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-5362_en.htm