EU member states to challenge Commission over gas defunding

EU member states look set to challenge the European Commission over plans to end funding for cross-border natural gas projects, a draft document has revealed.

Last December, the Commission proposed revisions to its "TEN-E" rules, which set the terms to define which cross-border energy projects could be labelled as Projects of Common Interest (PCI), allowing them access to certain funds and permit fast-tracking.

The Commission said the proposed revisions to the rules - which were first adopted in 2013 - were about "modernising and upgrading the TEN-E framework, reflecting the Green Deal objectives and making it fit for the infrastructure needs of the clean energy system of the future."

Read more: Radical change needed en route to net-zero, IEA warns

EU member states, who must approve the revisions, look set to challenge the Commission on the issue, via a proposal drafted by Portugal, which currently holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The draft, which was seen by Reuters, said that projects in Cyprus and Malta that currently held PCI status should continue to do so until the island nations are fully connected to the European gas network.

The proposals would allow time to complete the construction of the EastMed pipeline, which runs from Israel to Cyprus and on to Greece. Once completed, the pipeline will supply Europe with gas from the eastern Mediterranean. The countries are expecting to have an investment deal in place by 2022, with a 2025 completion date.

Read more: Cyprus, Greece, Israel ink deal for world's longest subsea interconnector

The proposal, which is due to be discussed by EU ambassadors next week, also said that investments to retrofit gas pipelines to carry hydrogen should be allowed to continue carrying natural gas blended with hydrogen until 2030.

Portugal declined to comment. The list of PCI projects is revised every two years.

Campaign group Global Witness said the rules should not support fossil fuels and pointed to an International Energy Agency report this month that said investments in new fossil fuel supply projects must cease if the world wants to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

EU countries disagree on the role of gas in meeting green goals. Gas produces roughly half the CO2 emissions of coal when burned in power plants, but the fuel is not zero-carbon and gas infrastructure is associated with methane emissions.

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