Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Long term infrastructure vision for Europe and beyond

Adequate, integrated and reliable energy networks are a crucial prerequisite not only for Union energy policy goals, but also for the Union's economic strategy. Developing our energy infrastructure will allow the Union to deliver a properly functioning internal energy market, enhance security of supply, enable the integration of renewable energy sources, increase energy efficiency and allow consumers to benefit from new technologies and intelligent energy use. Energy infrastructures are also indispensable to make the transition into a competitive low-carbon economy happen.

The European energy system is in transition. Whilst the short term priority is to complete the internal energy market by developing the missing interconnectors, ending the isolation of a number of Member States and by removing internal bottlenecks, the energy infrastructure planned today must, at the same time, be compatible with longer term policy choices.

Different decarbonisation scenarios imply different energy mixes and thus different infrastructure requirements. The Energy Roadmap 2050 outlines different scenarios how to ensure a more competitive and secure energy system while meeting the challenge of reducing carbon emissions by 80% in a 2050 perspective and provides a strong policy signal. It also identifies investments in increasingly smart and flexible infrastructures as one of the no-regret options. The Commission is currently preparing concrete proposals for a post-2020 framework for climate and energy policies.

The long-term energy infrastructure policy was first outlined in the Communication on 'Energy infrastructure priorities for 2020 and beyond – a blueprint for an integrated European energy network' and successively enshrined in the recently adopted Regulation on 'Guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructures' (TEN-E Guidelines) which identify nine strategic geographic infrastructure priority corridors in the domains of electricity, gas and oil, and three Union-wide infrastructure priority areas for electricity highways, smart grids and carbon dioxide transportation networks, the implementation of which is the Union's common short and long-term priority.

This Communication outlines a long-term vision for a pan-European energy infrastructure. The first set of Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) is an important step towards the better integration of Member States' networks and making sure no Member State remains isolated, in facilitating integration of renewable energy sources across the Union, in diversifying sources of gas supply by opening new gas corridors, and in offering alternatives to Member States dependent on a single source of oil or gas supply.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)711: Follow the progress of this communication through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:711:FIN

ESO: Background information: Energy: Commission unveils list of 250 infrastructure projects that may qualify for €5.85 billion of funding http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-energy-commission-unveils-list-of-250-infrastructure-projects-that-may-qualify-for-e585-billion-of-funding/

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