EU energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs has welcomed the Council of Europe's decision to adopt the commission's proposal for a revision of the Trans-European Energy Network (TEN-E) guidelines.
The European Parliament already endorsed these guidelines on April 4. The guidelines identify a European-wide electricity and gas transmission network, which is indispensable for the correct functioning of the internal energy market and to improve security of supply. The new rules will make authorization procedures easier and attract the necessary investment for cross-border projects of high European interest, said Mr Piebalgs.
In particular, the guidelines integrate fully the ten new member states into the network and present 42 projects of European interest. The revised guidelines clearly reflect the three main objectives of Europe’s energy policy, namely sustainability, competitiveness and security of supply.
The EU says that the TEN-E guidelines are an important policy instrument for establishing the effective operation of the internal energy market and reinforcing the security of energy supply by better linking the national markets and by strengthening relations with third countries in the energy sector. Increasingly interlinked regional and national markets give customers the benefit of better service quality, a wider choice of the energy mix and competitive prices.
On the top of that, the integration of large-scale wind generated electric power into the grid constitutes a Europe-wide challenge that goes beyond national borders, the EU’s statement reads.