Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure and repealing Decision No 1364/2006/EC and amending Regulations (EC) No 713/2009, (EC) No 714/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009

Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure ('TEN-E Regulation') lays down guidelines for the timely development and interoperability of priority corridors and areas of trans-European energy infrastructure.

The TEN-E Regulation introduces the notion of a 'project of common interest' (PCI) which is an infrastructure project necessary to implement the abovementioned energy infrastructure priority corridors and thematic areas. PCIs are energy infrastructure projects which are key for building well-interconnected energy networks in Europe and are cornerstones of various European strategies, including the Energy Union Strategy, the 2020 Energy and Climate Strategy and the 2030 Framework for Climate and Energy.

The TEN-E Regulation also provides (i) a regulatory framework for selecting PCIs that are necessary to implement priority corridors and areas, and (ii) lays down a set of measures which facilitate the timely implementation of PCIs, including rules for streamlining the permit granting, rules and guidance for the cross-border allocation of costs and risk-related incentives as well as rules determining the conditions for eligibility of PCIs for financial assistance.

PCIs are set out in a Union list of PCIs which constitutes an annex to the TEN-E Regulation. Article 3(4) of the TEN-E Regulation requires the Union list to be established every two years, on the basis of the regional lists adopted by the decision-making bodies of the so-called 'Regional Groups', as established according to Article 3(1) 2 of the TEN-E Regulation. Since the adoption of the TEN-E Regulation, the Commission has exercised its competence twice by adopting delegated regulations establishing two consecutive Union lists of PCIs in 2013 and in 2015, respectively.