The European Commission has recently announced the release of EUR 750 million of funding via Connecting Europe Facility (“CEF“) for key energy infrastructure projects. A 2019 CEF Energy call for financing proposals was published on 20 March 2019 and will be open until 13 June 2019 (“2019 CEF Energy Call“).
CEF Energy offers financing for studies or construction works in relation to projects which must first be designated Projects of Common Interest (“PCIs“) – namely projects that have a significant impact on at least two EU countries and increase competitiveness, enhance the EU’s energy security and contribute to sustainable development and environmental protection.
The selection criteria of PCIs to receive funding include the project’s state of maturity, its benefits in terms of security of supply, solidarity or innovation, and to what extent public support is needed to remove financing bottlenecks.
The 2019 CEF Energy Call is aimed at PCIs having the following objectives:
- Ending energy isolation;
- Increasing competitiveness by promoting the integration on the internal energy market and the interoperability of electricity and gas networks across borders;
- Enhancing the Union’s security of supply;
- Integrating energy from renewable sources and developing smart energy networks;
- Eliminating energy bottlenecks;
- Completion of the internal energy market;
- Contributing to sustainable development and protection of the environment, inter alia by the integration of energy from renewable sources and by the development of smart energy networks and cross-border carbon dioxide networks.
A virtual information day will take place on 9 April 2019 and will cover the priorities of the 2019 CEF Energy Call. For more information on CEF Energy please see https://ec.europa.eu/inea/connecting-europe-facility/cef-energy.
