Regulation (EU) 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2022 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure, amending Regulations (EC) No 715/2009, (EU) 2019/942 and (EU) 2019/943 and Directives 2009/73/EC and (EU) 2019/944, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 347/2013

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 1

Subject matter, objectives and scope

In particular, this Regulation:

(a) provides for the identification of projects on the Union list of projects of common interest and of projects of mutual interest established pursuant to Article 3 (Union list);

(b) facilitates the timely implementation of projects on the Union list by streamlining, coordinating more closely and accelerating permit granting processes, and by enhancing transparency and public participation;

(c) provides rules for the cross-border allocation of costs and risk-related incentives for projects on the Union list;

(d) determines the conditions for eligibility of projects on the Union list for Union financial assistance.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, in addition to the definitions in Regulations (EC) No 715/2009, (EU) 2018/1999, (EU) 2019/942 and (EU) 2019/943 and in Directives 2009/73/EC, (EU) 2018/2001 (¹) and (EU) 2019/944, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘energy infrastructure’ means any physical equipment or facility falling under the energy infrastructure categories which is located within the Union, or linking the Union and one or more third countries;

(2) ‘energy infrastructure bottleneck’ means limitation of physical flows in an energy system due to insufficient transmission capacity, which includes, inter alia, the absence of infrastructure;

(3) ‘comprehensive decision’ means the decision or set of decisions taken by a Member State authority or authorities not including courts or tribunals, that determines whether or not a project promoter is authorised to build the energy infrastructure to realise a project of common interest or a project of mutual interest by having the possibility to start, or procure and start, the necessary construction works (ready-to-build phase) without prejudice to any decision taken in the context of an administrative appeal procedure;

(4) ‘project’ means one or several lines, pipelines, facilities, equipment or installations falling under the energy infrastructure categories set out in Annex II;

(5) ‘project of common interest’ means a project necessary to implement the energy infrastructure priority corridors and areas set out in Annex I and which is on the Union list;

(6) ‘project of mutual interest’ means a project promoted by the Union in cooperation with third countries pursuant to letters of support from the governments of the directly affected countries or other non-binding agreements, which falls under one of the energy infrastructure categories set out in point 1(a) or (f), point 3(a), or point 5(a) or (c) of Annex II, which contributes to the Union’s 2030 targets for energy and climate and its 2050 climate neutrality objective and which is on the Union list;

(7) ‘competing projects’ means projects that fully or partially address the same identified infrastructure gap or regional infrastructure need;

(8) ‘project promoter’ means one of the following: (a) a transmission system operator (TSO), a distribution system operator (DSO) or another operator or investor developing a project on the Union list; (b) in the case of more than one such TSO, DSO, other operator or investor, or any group thereof, the entity with legal personality under the applicable national law which has been designated by contractual arrangement between them and which has the capacity to undertake legal obligations and assume financial liability on behalf of the parties to the contractual arrangement;

(9) ‘smart electricity grid’ means an electricity network, including on islands that are not interconnected or not sufficiently connected to the trans-European energy networks, that enables cost-efficient integration and active control of the behaviour and actions of all users connected to it, including generators, consumers and prosumers, in order to ensure an economically efficient and sustainable power system with low losses and a high level of integration of renewable sources, of security of supply and of safety, and in which the grid operator can digitally monitor the actions of the users connected to it, and information and communication technologies for communicating with related grid operators, generators, energy storage facilities, and consumers or prosumers, with a view to transmitting and distributing electricity in a sustainable, cost-efficient and secure way;

(10) ‘smart gas grid’ means a gas network that makes use of innovative and digital solutions to integrate in a cost-efficient manner a plurality of low-carbon and particularly renewable gas sources in accordance with consumers’ needs and gas quality requirements in order to reduce the carbon footprint of the related gas consumption, enable an increased share of renewable and low-carbon gases, and create links with other energy carriers and sectors, including the related physical upgrades if they are indispensable to the functioning of the equipment and installations for integration of low-carbon and particularly renewable gases;

(11) ‘authority concerned’ means an authority that, under national law, is competent to issue various permits and authorisations related to the planning, design and construction of immovable assets, including energy infrastructure;

(12) ‘national regulatory authority’ means a national regulatory authority designated in accordance with Article 39(1) of Directive 2009/73/EC or a regulatory authority at national level designated in accordance with Article 57 of Directive (EU) 2019/944;

(13) ‘relevant national regulatory authority’ means the national regulatory authority in the Member States hosting the projects and in Member States to which the project provides a significant positive impact;

(14) ‘works’ means the purchase, supply and deployment of components, systems and services including software, the carrying out of development, repurposing and construction and installation activities relating to a project, the acceptance of installations and the launching of a project;

(15) ‘studies’ means activities needed to prepare project implementation, such as preparatory, feasibility, evaluation, testing and validation studies, including software, and any other technical support measure including prior action to define and develop a project and decide on its financing, such as reconnaissance of the sites concerned and preparation of the financial package;

(16) ‘commissioning’ means the process of bringing a project into operation once it has been constructed;

(17) ‘dedicated hydrogen assets’ means infrastructure ready to accommodate pure hydrogen without further adaptation works, including pipeline networks or storage facilities that are newly constructed, repurposed from natural gas assets, or both;

(18) ‘repurposing’ means the technical upgrading or modification of existing natural gas infrastructure in order to ensure that it is dedicated for the use of pure hydrogen;

(19) ‘climate adaptation’ means a process that ensures that resilience to the potential adverse impacts of climate change of energy infrastructure is achieved through a climate vulnerability and risk assessment, including through relevant adaptation measures.

CHAPTER II

Projects of common interest and projects of mutual interest

Article 3

Union list of projects of common interest and projects of mutual interest

Where a Group draws up its regional list:

(a) each individual proposal for a project shall require the approval of the Member States to whose territory the project relates; where a Member State does not give its approval, it shall present its substantiated reasons for doing so to the Group concerned;

(b) it shall take into account the advice from the Commission with the aim of having a manageable total number of projects on the Union list.

In exercising its power, the Commission shall ensure that the Union list is established every two years, on the basis of the regional lists adopted by the decision-making bodies of the Groups established pursuant to Section 1, point (1), of Annex III, following the procedure set out in paragraph 3 of this Article.

The Commission shall adopt the delegated act establishing the first Union list pursuant to this Regulation by 30 November 2023.

If a delegated act adopted by the Commission pursuant to this paragraph cannot enter into force due to an objection expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council pursuant to Article 20(6), the Commission shall immediately convene the Groups in order to draw up new regional lists taking into account the reasons for the objection. The Commission shall adopt a new delegated act establishing the Union list as soon as possible.

When establishing the Union list by combining the regional lists referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission shall, taking due account of the deliberations of the Groups:

(a) ensure that only projects that fulfil the criteria referred to in Article 4 are included;

(b) ensure cross-regional consistency, taking into account the opinion of the Agency as referred to in Section 2, point (14), of Annex III;

(c) take into account the opinions of Member States referred to in Section 2, point (10), of Annex III;

(d) aim to ensure a manageable total number of projects on the Union list.

Article 4

Criteria for the assessment of projects by the Groups

A project of common interest shall meet the following general criteria:

(a) the project is necessary for at least one of the energy infrastructure priority corridors and areas set out in Annex I;

(b) the potential overall benefits of the project, assessed in accordance with the relevant specific criteria in paragraph 3, outweigh its costs, including in the longer term;

(c) the project meets any of the following criteria: (i) it involves at least two Member States by directly or indirectly, via interconnection with a third country, crossing the border of two or more Member States; (ii) it is located on the territory of one Member State, either inland or offshore, including islands, and has a significant cross-border impact as set out in point (1) of Annex IV.

A project of mutual interest shall meet the following general criteria:

(a) the project contributes significantly to the objectives referred to in Article 1(1), and those of the third country, in particular by not hindering the capacity of the third country to phase out fossil fuel generation assets for its domestic consumption, and to sustainability, including through the integration of renewable energy into the grid and the transmission and distribution of renewable generation to major consumption centres and storage sites;

(b) the potential overall benefits of the project at Union level, assessed in accordance with the relevant specific criteria in paragraph 3, outweigh its costs within the Union, including in the longer term;

(c) the project is located on the territory of at least one Member State and on the territory of at least one third country and has a significant cross-border impact as set out in point (2) of Annex IV;

(d) for the part located on Member State territory, the project is in line with Directives 2009/73/EC and (EU) 2019/944 where it falls within the infrastructure categories set out in points (1) and (3) of Annex II to this Regulation;

(e) there is a high level of convergence of the policy framework of the third country or countries involved and legal enforcement mechanisms to support the policy objectives of the Union are demonstrated, in particular to ensure: (i) a well-functioning internal energy market; (ii) security of supply based, inter alia, on diverse sources, cooperation and solidarity; (iii) an energy system, including production, transmission and distribution, moving towards the objective of climate neutrality, in line with the Paris Agreement and the Union’s 2030 targets for energy and climate and its 2050 climate neutrality objective, in particular, avoiding carbon leakage;

(f) the third country or countries involved support the priority status of the project, as set out in Article 7, and commit to complying with a similar timeline for accelerated implementation and other policy and regulatory support measures as applies to projects of common interest in the Union.

As regards projects for the storage of carbon dioxide falling under the energy infrastructure category set out in point (5)(c) of Annex II, the project shall be necessary to allow the cross-border transport and storage of carbon dioxide and the third country where the project is located shall have an adequate legal framework based on demonstrated effective enforcement mechanisms to ensure that standards and safeguards apply to the project, preventing any carbon dioxide leaks, and concerning climate, human health and ecosystems as regards the safety and effectiveness of the permanent storage of carbon-dioxide, which are at least at the same level as those provided by Union law.

The following specific criteria shall apply to projects of common interest falling within specific energy infrastructure categories:

(a) for electricity transmission, distribution and storage projects falling under the energy infrastructure categories set out in point (1)(a), (b), (c), (d) and (f) of Annex II, the project contributes significantly to sustainability through the integration of renewable energy into the grid, the transmission or distribution of renewable generation to major consumption centres and storage sites, and to reducing energy curtailment, where applicable, and contributes to at least one of the following specific criteria: (i) market integration, including through lifting the energy isolation of at least one Member State and reducing energy infrastructure bottlenecks, competition, interoperability and system flexibility; (ii) security of supply, including through interoperability, system flexibility, cybersecurity, appropriate connections and secure and reliable system operation;

(b) for smart electricity grid projects falling under the energy infrastructure category set out in point (1)(e) of Annex II, the project contributes significantly to sustainability through the integration of renewable energy into the grid, and contributes to at least two of the following specific criteria: (i) security of supply, including through efficiency and interoperability of electricity transmission and distribution in day-to-day network operation, avoidance of congestion, and integration and involvement of network users; (ii) market integration, including through efficient system operation and use of interconnectors; (iii) network security, flexibility and quality of supply, including through higher uptake of innovation in balancing, flexibility markets, cybersecurity, monitoring, system control and error correction; (iv) smart sector integration, either in the energy system through linking various energy carriers and sectors, or in a wider way, favouring synergies and coordination between the energy, transport and telecommunication sectors;

(c) for carbon dioxide transport and storage projects falling under the energy infrastructure categories set out in point (5) of Annex II, the project contributes significantly to sustainability through the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the connected industrial installations and contributes to all of the following specific criteria: (i) avoiding carbon dioxide emissions while maintaining security of supply; (ii) increasing the resilience and security of transport and storage of carbon dioxide; (iii) the efficient use of resources, by enabling the connection of multiple carbon dioxide sources and storage sites via common infrastructure and minimising environmental burden and risks;

(d) for hydrogen projects falling under the energy infrastructure categories set out in point (3) of Annex II, the project contributes significantly to sustainability, including by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, by enhancing the deployment of renewable or low carbon hydrogen, with an emphasis on hydrogen from renewable sources in particular in end-use applications, such as hard-to-abate sectors, in which more energy efficient solutions are not feasible, and supporting variable renewable power generation by offering flexibility, storage solutions, or both, and the project contributes significantly to at least one of the following specific criteria: (i) market integration, including by connecting existing or emerging hydrogen networks of Member States, or otherwise contributing to the emergence of an Union-wide network for the transport and storage of hydrogen, and ensuring interoperability of connected systems; (ii) security of supply and flexibility, including through appropriate connections and facilitating secure and reliable system operation; (iii) competition, including by allowing access to multiple supply sources and network users on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis;

(e) for electrolysers falling under the energy infrastructure category set out in point (4) of Annex II, the project contributes significantly to all of the following specific criteria: (i) sustainability, including by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing the deployment of renewable or low-carbon hydrogen in particular from renewable sources, as well as synthetic fuels of those origins; (ii) security of supply, including by contributing to secure, efficient and reliable system operation, or by offering storage, flexibility solutions, or both, such as demand side response and balancing services; (iii) enabling flexibility services such as demand response and storage by facilitating smart energy sector integration through the creation of links to other energy carriers and sectors;

(f) for smart gas grid projects falling under the energy infrastructure category set out in point (2) of Annex II, the project contributes significantly to sustainability by ensuring the integration of a plurality of low-carbon and particularly renewable gases, including where they are locally sourced, such as biomethane or renewable hydrogen, into the gas transmission, distribution or storage systems in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and that project contributes significantly to at least one of the following specific criteria: (i) network security and quality of supply by improving the efficiency and interoperability of gas transmission, distribution or storage systems in day-to-day network operation by, inter alia, addressing challenges arising from the injection of gases of various qualities; (ii) market functioning and customer services; (iii) facilitating smart energy sector integration through the creation of links to other energy carriers and sectors and enabling demand response.

In assessing projects, in order to ensure a consistent assessment approach among the Groups, each Group shall give due consideration to:

(a) the urgency and the contribution of each proposed project in order to meet the Union’s 2030 targets for energy and climate and its 2050 climate neutrality objective, market integration, competition, sustainability, and security of supply;

(b) the complementarity of each proposed project with other proposed projects, including competing or potentially competing projects;

(c) possible synergies with priority corridors and thematic areas identified under trans-European networks for transport and telecommunications;