The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy adopted the report by Adina-Ioana VĂLEAN (ADLE, RO) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the notification to the Commission of investment projects in energy infrastructure within the European Union and replacing Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 617/2010.
The committee recommended that the European Parliament’s position adopted at first reading, following the ordinary legislative procedure, should amend the Commission proposal as follows:
Political purpose: Members sought to clarify that obtaining an overall picture of the development of investment in energy infrastructure in the Union is a prerequisite for the development of the European energy policy.
Data and information on projects: the common framework should be established for the notification to the Commission of data and information on:
- investment projects in energy infrastructure in the oil, natural gas, electricity, coal and lignite and co-generation of electricity and useful heat sectors;
- investment projects related to bio-fuel production and the capture, transport and storage of carbon dioxide produced by these sectors.
This Regulation should also apply to investment projects included in multiannual gas and electricity network development projects on which construction or decommissioning work has started or on which a final investment decision has been taken.
Content of the notification: Members have clarified that Member States have an obligation to add comments to their notification, in case they dispose of any information on delays or/and obstacles as regards the implementation of investment projects.
Lightening the administrative burden: a harmonised reporting framework for investment projects based on updated categories for official data and information to be transmitted by the Member States is necessary. Such a harmonised reporting framework should set up a balanced system for reporting investment projects with a view to avoiding disproportionate administrative burdens. In this context, the Commission should adopt the provisions necessary for the application of the exemption, and in particular provisions concerning the timing and content of the notifications and the entities which are subject to the reporting obligations.
Confidentiality: the data and information requested by the Commission is highly sensitive for the economic operators and, therefore, the Commission must ensure the highest level of confidentiality when dealing with this data or information.
Monitoring and reports: according to Members,
- the instrument of notification should be used as an early-warning tool in particular to identify cross-border transmission gaps and deficiencies that hinder the functioning of the energy internal market;
- the Commission should provide an analysis to the Member States notifying them of the measures necessary to reduce risks of underinvestment or inadequacy of investments;
- the notification exercise should have a political purpose, notably to prepare an analysis, which provides input for a continuous a debate at European level about energy infrastructure needs. Therefore the Commission shall be obliged to discuss their analyses with interested parties. They should forward the analyses to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee, and shall publish them.