CHAPTER II

This Regulation establishes twelve Regional Groups (‘Groups’) as set out in Annex III.1. The membership of each Group shall be based on each priority corridor and area and their respective geographical coverage as set out in Annex I. Decision-making powers in the Groups shall be restricted to Member States and the Commission, who shall, for those purposes, be referred to as the decision-making body of the Groups. Each Group shall adopt its own rules of procedure, having regard to the provisions set out in Annex III. The decision-making body of each Group shall adopt a regional list of proposed projects of common interest drawn up according to the process set out in Annex III.2, according to the contribution of each project to implementing the energy infrastructure priority corridors and areas and according to their fulfilment of the criteria set out in Article 4. When a Group draws up its regional list: each individual proposal for a project of common interest shall require the approval of the Member States, to whose territory the project relates; if a Member State decides not to give its approval, it shall present its substantiated reasons for doing so to the Group concerned; it shall take into account advice from the Commission that is aimed at having a manageable total number of projects of common interest. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 16 that establish the Union list of projects of common interest (‘Union list’), subject to the second paragraph of Article 172 of the TFEU. The Union list shall take the form of an annex to this Regulation. 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 as established in Annex III.1(2), following the procedure set out in paragraph 3 of this Article. The first Union list shall be adopted by 30 September 2013. The Commission shall, when adopting the Union list on the basis of the regional lists: ensure that only those projects that fulfil the criteria referred to in Article 4 are included; ensure cross-regional consistency, taking into account the opinion of the Agency as referred to in Annex III.2(12); take into account any opinions of Member States as referred to in Annex III.2(9); and aim for a manageable total number of projects of common interest on the Union list. Projects of common interest included on the Union list pursuant to paragraph 4 of this Article shall become an integral part of the relevant regional investment plans under Article 12 of Regulations (EC) No 714/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 and of the relevant national 10-year network development plans under Article 22 of Directives 2009/72/EC and 2009/73/EC and other national infrastructure plans concerned, as appropriate. Those projects shall be conferred the highest possible priority within each of those plans. Projects of common interest shall meet the following general criteria: the project is necessary for at least one of the energy infrastructure priority corridors and areas; the potential overall benefits of the project, assessed according to the respective specific criteria in paragraph 2, outweigh its costs, including in the longer term; and the project meets any of the following criteria: involves at least two Member States by directly crossing the border of two or more Member States; is located on the territory of one Member State and has a significant cross-border impact as set out in Annex IV.1; crosses the border of at least one Member State and a European Economic Area country. The following specific criteria shall apply to projects of common interest falling within specific energy infrastructure categories: for electricity transmission and storage projects falling under the energy infrastructure categories set out in Annex II.1(a) to (d), the project is to contribute significantly to at least one of the following specific criteria: market integration, inter alia through lifting the isolation of at least one Member State and reducing energy infrastructure bottlenecks; competition and system flexibility; sustainability, inter alia through the integration of renewable energy into the grid and the transmission of renewable generation to major consumption centres and storage sites; security of supply, inter alia through interoperability, appropriate connections and secure and reliable system operation; for gas projects falling under the energy infrastructure categories set out in Annex II.2, the project is to contribute significantly to at least one of the following specific criteria: market integration, inter alia through lifting the isolation of at least one Member State and reducing energy infrastructure bottlenecks; interoperability and system flexibility; security of supply, inter alia through appropriate connections and diversification of supply sources, supplying counterparts and routes; competition, inter alia through diversification of supply sources, supplying counterparts and routes; sustainability, inter alia through reducing emissions, supporting intermittent renewable generation and enhancing deployment of renewable gas; for electricity smart grid projects falling under the energy infrastructure category set out in Annex II.1(e), the project is to contribute significantly to all of the following specific criteria: integration and involvement of network users with new technical requirements with regard to their electricity supply and demand; efficiency and interoperability of electricity transmission and distribution in day-to-day network operation; network security, system control and quality of supply; optimised planning of future cost-efficient network investments; market functioning and customer services; involvement of users in the management of their energy usage; for oil transport projects falling under the energy infrastructure categories set out in Annex II.3, the project is to contribute significantly to all of the following specific criteria: security of supply reducing single supply source or route dependency; efficient and sustainable use of resources through mitigation of environmental risks; interoperability; for carbon dioxide transport projects falling under the energy infrastructure categories set out in Annex II.4, the project is contribute significantly to all of the following specific criteria: the avoidance of carbon dioxide emissions while maintaining security of energy supply; increasing the resilience and security of carbon dioxide transport; 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. For projects falling under the energy infrastructure categories set out in Annex II.1 to 3, the criteria listed in this Article shall be assessed in accordance with the indicators set out in Annex IV.2 to 5. In order to facilitate the assessing of all projects that could be eligible as projects of common interest and that could be included in a regional list, each Group shall assess each project’s contribution to the implementation of the same priority corridor or area in a transparent and objective manner. Each Group shall determine its assessment method on the basis of the aggregated contribution to the criteria referred to in paragraph 2; this assessment shall lead to a ranking of projects for internal use of the Group. Neither the regional list nor the Union list shall contain any ranking, nor shall the ranking be used for any subsequent purpose except as described in Annex III.2(14). When assessing projects, each Group shall furthermore give due consideration to: the urgency of each proposed project in order to meet the Union energy policy targets of market integration, inter alia through lifting the isolation of at least one Member State and competition, sustainability and security of supply; the number of Member States affected by each project, whilst ensuring equal opportunities for projects involving peripheral Member States; the contribution of each project to territorial cohesion; and complementarity with regard to other proposed projects. For smart grids projects falling under the energy infrastructure category set out in Annex II.1(e), ranking shall be carried out for those projects that affect the same two Member States, and due consideration shall also be given to the number of users affected by the project, the annual energy consumption and the share of generation from non-dispatchable resources in the area covered by these users. Project promoters shall draw up an implementation plan for projects of common interest, including a timetable for each of the following: feasibility and design studies; approval by the national regulatory authority or by any other authority concerned; construction and commissioning; the permit granting schedule referred to in Article 10(4)(b). TSOs, distribution system operators and other operators shall co-operate with each other in order to facilitate the development of projects of common interest in their area. The Agency and the Groups concerned shall monitor the progress achieved in implementing the projects of common interest and, if necessary, make recommendations to facilitate the implementation of projects of common interest. The Groups may request that additional information be provided in accordance with paragraphs 4, 5 and 6, convene meetings with the relevant parties and invite the Commission to verify the information provided on site. By 31 March of each year following the year of inclusion of a project of common interest on the Union list pursuant to Article 3, project promoters shall submit an annual report, for each project falling under the categories set out in Annex II.1 and 2, to the competent authority referred to in Article 8 and either to the Agency or, for projects falling under the categories set out in Annex II.3 and 4, to the respective Group. That report shall give details of: the progress achieved in the development, construction and commissioning of the project, in particular with regard to permit granting and consultation procedures; where relevant, delays compared to the implementation plan, the reasons for such delays and other difficulties encountered; where relevant, a revised plan aiming at overcoming the delays. Within three months of the receipt of the annual reports referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, the Agency shall submit to the Groups a consolidated report for the projects of common interest falling under the categories set out in Annex II.1 and 2, evaluating the progress achieved and make, where appropriate, recommendations on how to overcome the delays and difficulties encountered. That consolidated report shall also evaluate, in accordance with Article 6(8) and (9) of Regulation (EC) No 713/2009, the consistent implementation of the Union-wide network development plans with regard to the energy infrastructure priority corridors and areas. Each year, the competent authorities referred to in Article 8 shall report to the respective Group on the progress and, where relevant, on delays in the implementation of projects of common interest located on their respective territory with regard to the permit granting processes, and on the reasons for such delays. If the commissioning of a project of common interest is delayed compared to the implementation plan, other than for overriding reasons beyond the control of the project promoter: in so far as measures referred to in Article 22(7)(a), (b) or (c) of Directives 2009/72/EC and 2009/73/EC are applicable according to respective national laws, national regulatory authorities shall ensure that the investment is carried out; if the measures of national regulatory authorities according to point (a) are not applicable, the project promoter shall choose a third party to finance or construct all or part of the project. The project promoter shall do so before the delay compared to the date of commissioning in the implementation plan exceeds two years; if a third party is not chosen according to point (b), the Member State or, when the Member State has so provided, the national regulatory authority may, within two months of the expiry of the period referred to in point (b), designate a third party to finance or construct the project which the project promoter shall accept; if the delay compared to the date of commissioning in the implementation plan exceeds two years and two months, the Commission, subject to the agreement and with the full cooperation of the Member States concerned, may launch a call for proposals open to any third party capable of becoming a project promoter to build the project according to an agreed timeline; when points (c) or (d) are applied, the system operator in whose area the investment is located shall provide the implementing operators or investors or third party with all the information needed to realise the investment, shall connect new assets to the transmission network and shall generally make its best efforts to facilitate the implementation of the investment and the secure, reliable and efficient operation and maintenance of the project of common interest. A project of common interest may be removed from the Union list according to the procedure set out in Article 3(4) if its inclusion in that list was based on incorrect information which was a determining factor for that inclusion, or the project does not comply with Union law. Projects which are no longer on the Union list shall lose all rights and obligations linked to the status of project of common interest arising from this Regulation. However, a project which is no longer on the Union list but for which an application file has been accepted for examination by the competent authority shall maintain the rights and obligations arising from Chapter III, except where the project is no longer on the list for the reasons set out in paragraph 8. This Article shall be without prejudice to any Union financial assistance granted to any project of common interest prior to its removal from the Union list. Where a project of common interest encounters significant implementation difficulties, the Commission may designate, in agreement with the Member States concerned, a European coordinator for a period of up to one year renewable twice. The European coordinator shall: promote the projects, for which he has been designated European coordinator and the cross-border dialogue between the project promoters and all concerned stakeholders; assist all parties as necessary in consulting concerned stakeholders and obtaining necessary permits for the projects; if appropriate, advise project promoters on the financing of the project; ensure that appropriate support and strategic direction by the Member States concerned are provided for the preparation and implementation of the projects; submit every year, and if appropriate, upon completion of their mandate, a report to the Commission on the progress of the projects and on any difficulties and obstacles which are likely to significantly delay the commissioning date of the projects. The Commission shall transmit the report to the European Parliament and the Groups concerned. The European coordinator shall be chosen on the basis of his experience with regard to the specific tasks assigned to him for the projects concerned. The decision designating the European coordinator shall specify the terms of reference, detailing the duration of the mandate, the specific tasks and corresponding deadlines, and the methodology to be followed. The coordination effort shall be proportionate to the complexity and estimated costs of the projects. The Member States concerned shall fully cooperate with the European coordinator in his execution of the tasks referred to in paragraphs 2 and 4.

← art_2__point_11__text_1 · All articles · Article 3 →

Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-30 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.