Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation of the trans-european energy networks programme in the period 2002-2006 Pursuant to Article 16 of Regulation 2236/1995/EC
Date: 2008-11-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: action programme, economic policy, electrical energy, energy grid, natural gas, trans-European network

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 13.11.2008 
COM(2008) 770 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL,  
THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRANS-EUROPEAN ENERGY 
NETWORKS PROGRAMME IN THE PERIOD 2002-2006 

Pursuant to Article 16 of Regulation 2236/1995/EC 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL,  
THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRANS-EUROPEAN ENERGY 
NETWORKS PROGRAMME IN THE PERIOD 2002-2006 

Pursuant to Article 16 of Regulation 2236/1995/EC 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  Commission  is  submitting  the  "Trans-European  Energy  Networks  (TEN-E) 
Programme  2002-2006  Implementation  Report"  to  the  European  Parliament,  the 
Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of 
Regions  pursuant  to  Article  16  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2236/951  of  18 
September 1995, laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial 
aid  in  the  field  of  trans-European  networks  (hereafter  the  "TEN  Financial 
Regulation"). 

This report addresses the TEN-E projects co-financed under the TEN-E budget in the 
period  2002-2006  (studies  and  works).  The  concrete  progress  achieved  in  the 
implementation of TEN-E priority projects in the survey period is also examined. 

The period under review was governed by the guidelines for trans-European energy 
networks as adopted in 19962 (hereafter the "1996 TEN-E guidelines") which cover 
the  years  2002  and  2003,  the  guidelines  for  trans-European  energy  networks  as 
adopted  in  20033  (hereafter  the  "2003  TEN-E  guidelines")  which  cover  the  years 
2004  to  2006,  and  the  TEN  Financial  Regulation  as  adopted  in  1995  which  covers 
the whole period 2002-2006. The legal framework change occurred in 2003 has been 
taken into account in this implementation report. 

The  most  important  feature  in  this  period  was  the  accession  of  ten  new  Member 
States in 2004. In order to fully integrate the new European Neighbourhood policy, 
revised  guidelines  for  trans-European  energy  networks4  have  been  adopted  on  6 
September 2006. 

The  Commission  considered  important  to  address  infrastructure  issues  in  the 
Strategic  European  Energy  Review  (SEER)  asked  for  by  the  European  Council  of 
March  2006.  A  communication  on  a  Priority  Interconnection  Plan5,  based  on  the 
TEN-E guidelines as adopted in 2006, was presented on 10 January 2007 as part of 
the SEER package. 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 

OJ L228, 23.9.1995, p. 1–7 
Decision No 1254/96/EC of 5 June 1996, OJ L161, 29.6.1996, p. 147 
Decision No 1229/2003/EC of 26 June 2003, OJ L176, 15.7.2003, p. 11 
Decision No 1364/2006/EC of 6 September 2006, OJ L262, 22.9.2006, p. 1 
COM(2006) 846  

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2. 

LEGISLATION APPLICABLE IN THE PERIOD 2002-2006 

2.1.1.  TEN-E guidelines 

The first European Community guidelines for trans-European energy networks were 
adopted in 19966. These guidelines identified the list of potential eligible projects for 
EU co-financing as well as the criteria for their eligibility. The initial list of projects 
of  common  interest  potentially  eligible  to  Community  financial  support  has  been 
amended twice, in 19977 and in 19998. 

In  2003,  the  TEN-E  guidelines9  have  been  revised  in  the  context  of  a  package  of 
Commission  proposals  on  Energy  Infrastructure.  The  revision  was  subject  to  an 
Extended Impact Assessment. 

Of key importance was the completion of a selection of projects on the priority axes 
which  are  of  cross-border  nature  or  which  have  significant  impact  on  cross-border 
transmission capacity. 

The  revision  of  the  guidelines  has  therefore  modified  and  completed  the  list  of 
projects of common interest previously defined in the Annex of the 1996 guidelines 
(as  amended  in  1997  and  1999)  and  identifies  12  axes  for  priority  projects.  These 
axes take account of the connections that are required for the efficient functioning of 
the  internal  market  and  to  reach  a  high  level  of  security  of  energy  supply.  The 
challenges for electricity and gas networks are different as follows: 

i) 
The  existing  capacities  of  the  electricity  interconnections  were  considered  as 
insufficient in the view of the further increase of exchange and trade. Consequently, 
in  March  2002  at  the  Barcelona  European  Council,  the  heads  of  state  and 
government agreed to set an indicative target for Member States, according to which 
the capacity of electricity interconnections for each country should be equivalent to 
at least 10% of the country's installed production capacity by 2005. 

ii)  Concerning natural gas, due to the depletion of indigenous resources within the 
EU an increasing dependence on gas imports in the next 20-30 years is anticipated. 
Within  the  TEN-E  policy,  a  realistic  target  was  to  set  up  an  additional  gas  import 
capacity of 70 Billion Cubic Meter by 2013, from sources in Russia, North Africa, 
the  Caspian  Sea  region  and  the  Middle  East.  The  main  suppliers  of  natural  gas  at 
present  are  Norway,  Russia  and  North  Africa.  In  the  future,  the  Caspian  Sea,  the 
Middle East and the Gulf region will become additional important suppliers thanks to 
the  development  of  Liquefied  Natural  Gas  (LNG)  carried  by  boat.  These  sources 
define  the  natural  transit  routes  and  the  need  for  LNG  terminals  and  regasification 
capacities. 

6 
7 
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9 

Decision No 1254/96/EC, OJ L161, 29.6.1996, p. 147 
Decision No 1047/97/EC, OJ L152, 11.6.1997, p. 12 
Decision No 1741/99/EC, OJ L207, 6.8.1999, p. 1 
Decision No 1229/2003/EC, OJ L176, 15.7.2003, p.11 

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2.1.2.  TEN Financial Regulation 

As far as energy was concerned, the TEN Financial  Regulation as adopted  in 1995 
was amended by Regulations (EC) No 788/200410 and 807/200411 of 21 April 2004 
of the European Parliament and the Council. It sets the conditions under which TEN-
E  projects  identified  in  the  TEN-E  guidelines  are  eligible  for  co-financing.  In 
particular, it specifies the funding rates for studies (up to 50 % of the study cost) and 
for works (up to 10 % of the project cost). 

Article  5  of  the  TEN  Financial  Regulation  as  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No 
807/2004  represented  a real  progress,  since a higher financing rate for works up to 
20% was allowed for projects located on priority axis as defined in the 2003 TEN-E 
guidelines.  It  nevertheless  remained  conditional  on  implementation  rules  which 
required simplification, and constrained by limited budgetary resources. 

3. 

PROGRESS WITH SPECIFIC PROJECTS 

The  progress  of  projects  of  common  interest  as  defined  in  the  Annex  of  the  1996 
TEN-E guidelines up to 2003, and in Annex III of the 2003 TEN-E guidelines from 
2003  onwards,  has  been  reported  in  the  report  on  the  implementation  of  the 
guidelines for trans-European energy networks in the period 2002-200412 published 
in  2006  and  in  the  study  "Implementation  of  TEN-E  projects  (2004-2006), 
Evaluation  and  Analysis"13,  which  was  carried  out  in  2006  by  independent  experts 
for DG Transport and Energy. 

In  the  period  2002-2006,  57  electricity  projects  of  common  interest  and  23  gas 
projects  of  common  interest14  have  been  completed.  Out  of  these  80  projects,  68 
were located on a priority axis as defined in the guidelines adopted in 2003. These 
results are summarised in Table 1. 

Table 1: Projects of common interest finalised in the period 2002-2006. 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

2002-2006 

Electricity 

Priority projects 

Gas 

Priority projects 

TOTAL 

Priority projects 

15 

14 

4 

2 

19 

16 

21 

20 

4 

3 

25 

23 

6 

6 

3 

1 

9 

7 

9 

9 

9 

7 

18 

16 

6 

5 

3 

1 

9 

6 

57 
54 

23 
14 

80 
68 

Out  of  the  80  projects  completed  in  the  survey  period,  17  have  been  co-financed 
under  the  TEN-E  budget  (between  1995  and  2006).  A  detailed  list  of  the  finalised 
projects of common interest in the period 2002-2006 is presented in Annex. 

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12 
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OJ L 138, 30.4.2004, p. 17 
OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 46 
COM(2006) 443 and SEC(2006) 1059 Commission Staff Working Document, 7.8.2006 
The final report is available on http://ec.europa.eu/ten/energy/studies/index_en.htm 
The projects of common interest considered in this paragraph and Table 1 are those specified in Annex 
III of the 2003 TEN-E guidelines, which modify and complement the list of projects of common interest 
specified in the 1996 TEN-E guidelines 

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4. 

FINANCING THE TEN-E 

4.1. 

Private sector 

Transmission  System  Operators'  (TSOs)  own  resources  are  the  main  financing 
sources  of  the  implemented  projects.  Exact  or  meaningful  figures  for  TSOs'  total 
investments  on  trans-European  energy  networks  projects  are  difficult  to  obtain, 
especially for projects for which no TEN-E funding has been requested. 

4.2.  Member States financing 

Member States in most cases do not participate directly in financing projects of trans-
European energy networks since these projects are mostly implemented by TSOs. 

4.3. 

TEN-E funding programme 

TEN-E funding of trans-European energy networks represents in most cases a rather 
limited share of the total cost. The role of TEN-E financing is to act as a catalyst to 
lever other investment sources and/or to facilitate the implementation of the project 
through the TEN-E label. 

From 2002 to 2006, the Commission received 132 applications for TEN-E funding, 
7215  of  which  have  benefited  from  financial  support:  42  concerned  electricity 
projects  and  30  gas  projects.  Moreover,  3  out  of  72  funding  decisions  concerned 
works (2 in the electricity sector, and one in the gas sector); the other funded projects 
related to studies. Detailed information on selection process is presented in Table 2. 

Table  2:  Details  on  the  selection  results  for  awarding  TEN-E  funding  in  the 
period 2002-2006. 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

2002-2006 

Proposals received 

Electricity 

Gas 

Studies 
Works 

Studies 
Works 

Funding decisions issued 

Electricity 

Gas 

Studies 
Works 

Studies 
Works 

28 

13 
10 
3 

15 
11 
4 

12 

6 
6 
0 

6 
6 
0 

37 

24 
14 
10 

13 
12 
1 

13 

7 
7 
0 

6 
6 
0 

35 

15 
13 
2 

20 
17 
3 

18 

10 
9 
1 

8 
8 
0 

18 

12 
10 
2 

6 
6 
0 

16 

10 
9 
1 

6 
6 
0 

14 

10 
10 
0 

4 
3 
1 

13 

9 
9 
0 

4 
3 
1 

132 

74 
57 
17 

58 
49 
9 

72 

42 
40 
2 

30 
29 
1 

In the period 2002-2006, support under the TEN-E budget line of a total amount of 
about 93.726.000 € was awarded (see Table 3).  This amount was spent for 57% on 
the gas sector and 43% on the electricity sector. This amount has been spent for 94 % 

15 

The list of funded projects is available on http://ec.europa.eu/ten/energy/studies/index_en.htm  

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on the co-financing of studies (up to 50 %) and for 6 % on the co-financing of works 
(up to 10 %). 

Detailed information on TEN-E commitments in the period 2002-2006 is presented 
in Table 3. 

Table 3: TEN-E commitments in the period 2002-2006 (M€) 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

2002-2006 

TEN-E Budget 

21,0 

21,62 

21,5 

21,5 

21,55 

107,170 

Commitments 

14,505

18,498

20,106

20,585

20,032 

93,726

Electricity 

Studies 
Works 

3,427 
3,427 
0 

6,133 
6,133 
0 

10,205 
9,199 
1,006 

9,042 
6,042 
3,000 

Gas 

11,078 

12,365 

9,901 

11,543 

Studies 
Works 

11,078 
0 

12,365 
0 

9,901 
0 

11,543 
0 

11,223 
11,223 
0 

8,809 

7,089 
1,720 

40,030 
36,024 
4,006 

53,696 

51,976 
1,720 

In  2002,  most  of  the  proposals  received  were  rejected  in  the  selection  process 
because  of  the  lack  of  compliance  with  the  eligibility  criteria,  the  lack  of  maturity 
and/or  of  proposal  completeness.  As  a  consequence,  only  70  %  of  the  available 
budget could be committed. 

In  2003,  the  TEN-E  support  for  selected  projects  represented  almost  100  %  of  the 
available  budget.  However,  because  of  the  withdrawal  by  a  promoter  of  one  of  the 
selected projects, only 86 % of the available budget could be committed. 

In  2004,  the  TEN-E  support  for  selected  projects  amounted  to  21.484.260  €, 
representing nearly 100 % of the available budget. Nevertheless, a proposal selected 
in 2004 has also been withdrawn by the applicant and 94 % of the available budget 
could be committed. 

In 2005, 96 % of the available budget could be committed. 

In  2006,  a  limited  number  of  proposals  have  been  received,  of  which  one  was  not 
compliant with the eligibility criteria. The eligible proposals all passed the evaluation 
process and the related TEN-E support amounted to 20.032.000 €. As a consequence, 
only 93 % of the available budget could be committed. 

Concerning  the  amount  spent  for  priority  projects  as  defined  in  the  2003  TEN-E 
guidelines  and  selected  for  funding  in  the  period  2004-2006,  nearly  61%  of  the 
available  budget  was  awarded  to  projects  located  on  priority  axis  and  39%  was 
awarded  to  projects  of  common  interest.  The  electricity  and  the  gas  networks 
received  respectively  47%  and  53%  of  the  budget  which  was  spent  on  priority 
projects, and respectively 55% and 45% of the budget which was spent on projects of 
common interest. 

The  TEN-E  programme  mainly  focuses  on  the  co-financing  of  studies,  at  an  early 
stage of projects development which presents higher withdrawal or cancellation risks 
by  the  would-be  promoters  of  projects.  An  increase  of  the  TEN-E  budget  would 
allow  extending  the  co-financing  of  projects  to  a  later  development  stage 
(construction phase), particularly where ensuring security of supply is at stake. 

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4.4. 

European Investment Bank (EIB) loans 

Since the start of the trans-European networks initiative in the 1990s, trans-European 
networks remain an important lending priority for the EIB. 

The  EIB  loans  related  to  energy  infrastructure  cover  projects  included  in  the 
guidelines  for  trans-European  energy  networks16  as  well  as  energy  infrastructure 
projects which are not but comply with the criteria as specified in Annexes I and II of 
the TEN-E guidelines. The EIB loans signed in the period 2002-2006 amount to 831 
M€ for the electricity sector and 2.185 M€ fo r the gas sector. Some 36 % of the total 
amount  was  awarded  to  priority  projects,  nearly  50  %  was  awarded  to  projects  of 
common interest and about 14 % to other TEN projects not listed in the Annex III of 
the TEN-E guidelines but located on priority axis as defined in Annexes I and II of 
the  TEN-E  guidelines  (see  Table  4).  These  loans  supported  large  cross-border 
projects  (electricity  interconnectors,  gas  supply  pipelines),  expansion  and/or 
reinforcement of transmission networks including storage and LNG terminals. 

Table 4: EIB signed loans for energy infrastructure of trans-European interest 
in the period 2002-2006 (M€) 

200217 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

2002-2006 

Electricity (amounts) 

TEN Priority projects 
TEN Projects of common interest 
Other TEN projects 

Gas (amounts) 

TEN Priority projects 
TEN Projects of common interest 
Other TEN projects 

TOTAL AMOUNTS 

TEN Priority projects 
TEN Projects of common interest 
Other TEN projects 

50 
0 
50 
0 

155 
0 
0 
155 

205 
0 
50 
155 

140 
0 
140 
0 

273 
230 
43 
0 

413 
230 
183 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 

1.272 
705 
500 
67 

1.272 
705 
500 
67 

615 
125 
330 
160 

277 
0 
277 
0 

892 
125 
607 
160 

26 
0 
0 
26 

208 
22 
186 
0 

234 
22 
186 
26 

831 
125 
520 
186 

2.185 
957 
1.006 
222 

3.016 
1.082 
1.526 
408 

4.5. 

Cohesion Policy 

Energy  infrastructure  receives  significant  support  from  Structural  Funds.  A 
significant  fraction  of  this  support  is  often  dedicated  to  energy  infrastructure  in 
general,  including  distribution  networks,  and  not  exclusively  to  interconnectors.  In 
the  period  2000-2006,  Cohesion  Policy  direct  financial  support  for  energy 
infrastructures  (production  and  delivery)  amounted  to 
Objective 1 and € 26.306.822 under Objective 2. 18 

€  293.283.755  under 

16 

17 

18 

The TEN-E guidelines considered in this paragraph and Table 4 are those published in 1996 for projects 
supported in 2002 and those published in 2003 for projects supported in 2003 and beyond 
No  projects  supported  by  the  EIB  in  2002  were  located  on  priority  axis  as  defined  in  the  TEN-E 
guidelines adopted in 2003 
SEC(2007)1456, Commission Staff Working Document annex to the Report from the Commission "18th 
Annual Report on Implementation of the Structural Funds (2006)  

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4.6. 

Financing infrastructure in third countries 

4.6.1.  PHARE 

The  cross-border  cooperation  programme 
the  PHARE 
programme  in  the  Countries  of  Central  and  Eastern  Europe  financed  actions 
including  improvement  of  infrastructures  and  the  provision  of  local  water,  gas  and 
electricity  supplies  and  measures  in  the  fields  of  energy  and  transport  aimed  at  the 
development of trans-European networks. 

implemented  under 

4.6.2.  CARDS 

Covering  the  period  2002-2006,  a  Regional  Strategy  and  Country  Strategies  for 
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYROM and the F.R. of Yugoslavia were 
decided  end  of  2001.  One  of  the  specific  regional  cooperation  objectives  of  the 
CARDS regional strategy was "to re-integrate the SAP [Stabilisation and Association 
Process] countries into the European infrastructure networks, namely for transport, 
border  management  and  energy"  by  assisting  them  "in  developing  coherent 
strategies  for  infrastructure  with  an  international  dimension  in  transport  and 
energy." 

This framework may be seen as a preparatory measure to integrate the countries - in 
the process of accession - in the TEN-E networks and to ensure coherence between 
the EU network and the neighbouring countries. 

4.6.3. 

ISPA 

The  intervention  areas  of  the  Instrument  for  structural  policy  for  pre-accession  for 
candidate countries from the Central and Eastern Europe in the period 2000-2006 did 
not include energy policy. 

4.6.4.  TACIS 

During  the  period  2000-2006,  the  TACIS  programme  covered  Countries  from 
Eastern  Europe  and  Central  Asia  and  expenditures  for  infrastructures  networks,  in 
particular pipelines and energy transmission networks19. 

4.6.5.  MEDA 

The  MEDA  programme  covered  Algeria,  Cyprus,  Egypt,  Israel,  Jordan,  Lebanon, 
Malta, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and the occupied territories of Gaza and the 
West Bank and expenditures for the upgrading of economic infrastructures, including 
the sector of energy20. 

The  Community  support  under  the  MEDA  programme  to  the  creation  of  the  Euro-
Arab  Mashreq  Gas  Market  (EAMGM)  in  2005  amounted  to  6  M€.  The  EAMGM 
contributes interalia to the completion of key connecting infrastructures in the region 
(Arab  Gas  Pipeline  and  others)  and  promotes  the  use  of  gas.  The  participating 

19 
20 

Council Regulation (EC) No 99/2000 of 29.12.1999, OJ L12, 18.1.2000, p. 1-9 
Council Regulation (EC) No 1488/96 of 23 July 1996, OJ L189, 30.7.1996, p. 1-9 

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Countries  are  Egypt,  Jordan,  Lebanon  and  Syria.  This  project  is  scheduled  to  be 
completed end of 2008. 

MEDA  and  TACIS  have  been  replaced  by  the  new  European  Neighbourhood  and 
Partnership Instrument from 2007 onwards. 

5. 

EVALUATION 

5.1.  Mid-term evaluation 

In 2004, a mid-term evaluation21 of the TEN-Energy programme for the period 2000-
2006 has been carried out for the Commission by independent experts. 

The  two  main  objectives  of  the  mid-term  evaluation  was  to  evaluate  the  impact  of 
studies  and  projects  funded  by  the  TEN-E  Programme  and  to  issue  practical 
recommendations to improve the overall efficiency of the Programme. 

The  evaluation  concluded  on  a  positive  impact  of  carrying  out  the  projects  already 
identified in the TEN-E Guidelines adopted in June 2003 and highlighted key topics 
for the new Guidelines: 

the  cohesion  by  the  integration  of  the  energy  networks  of  the  new  Member 

- 
States; 

the  environment  by  facilitating  the  connection  of  the  renewable  energy 

- 
productions; 

- 

the energy internal market by increasing the capacities of exchange; 

the security of energy supply by increasing capacities and by diversifying the 

- 
sources and the routes; 

- 

the cooperation with the neighbouring countries. 

Based on the recommendations made in the evaluation report, following actions were 
taken: 

reinforcement  of  the  relations  with  the  Member  States  in  order  to  better 

- 
understand their needs and policies on energy networks; 

further concentration of Commission funding on the projects with the highest 

- 
importance (projects of European interest and priority projects); 

- 
strengthening  the  cooperation  with  other  related  instruments,  i.e.  Structural 
funds, EIB, etc. in order to join internal synergies and to fully profit from the TEN-E 
network as a reference network. 

5.2. 

Ex-post evaluation 

The  ex-post  evaluation  of  projects  co-financed  by  the  TEN-Energy  programme  for 
the period 2000-2006 will be performed for the Commission by independent experts 

21 

EN 

The 
final 
http://ec.europa.eu/ten/energy/studies/index_en.htm 

Evaluation 

mid-term 

report 

is 

available 

on 

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in 2008 in accordance with Article 15 of the Council Regulation (EC) No 2236/9522 
of  18  September  1995,  laying  down  general  rules  for  the  granting  of  Community 
financial aid in the field of trans-European networks. 

5.3.  Monitoring of the funding decisions 

The  monitoring  of  the  contracts  and  decisions  is  mainly  based  on  the  beneficiary 
obligation  to  report  on  the  progress  of  the  co-financed  study  or  works,  and  to  duly 
justify any request of amendment of the contract or decision. 

28 prolongation requests relating to 20 out of the 72 funding decisions drawn up in 
the period 2002-2006 have been sent to the Commission and 26 (11 Electricity and 
15 Gas) have been accepted by the Commission. The main reasons for delays were 
the following: delays in permitting procedures, market evolutions which may lead to 
strategy  modifications,  activities  transfers  to  a  new  beneficiary  in  compliance  with 
Directive 2003/55/EC23 and Directive 2003/54/EC24, the need to overcome technical 
difficulties and corporate changes. 

6. 

EXTERNAL RELATIONS 

The revisions of the TEN-E guidelines which occurred in 2003 and 2006 reinforced 
the  external  dimension  of  the  trans-European  energy  networks  by  increasing  the 
connections to accessing and neighbouring countries. In particular, the 2006 revision 
took stock of the need of fully integrating new Member States and the accession and 
candidate  countries  into  those  guidelines  and  to  adapt  further,  as  appropriate,  those 
guidelines to the new neighbourhood policy of the European Union. 

The TEN-E Guidelines therefore provide the prioritisation of new pipelines from the 
gas fields in Russia, Algeria and the Caspian Sea to the EU, complemented by LNG 
terminals and underground gas storage. They also focus on electricity links between 
the  Mediterranean  Member  States  and  the  Southern  Mediterranean  Countries,  in 
particular  by  synchronous  connection  to  the  Union  for  the  Co-ordination  of  the 
Transmission  of  Electricity  (UCTE)  system,  by  increasing  connections  with  South-
East Europe including links to Turkey, and by better connecting the Baltic States to 
the Central-Eastern and Northern Europe markets. 

The  EU-Russia  Energy  Dialogue  was  launched  in  2001  with  the  purpose  to  foster 
EU-Russia relation in the field of energy. The main achievements of the EU-Russia 
Energy  Dialogue  have  been  published  in  several  progress  reports25.  In  2006,  three 
thematic  groups have been established to deal with: i) energy efficiency, ii) energy 
market  development  and  iii)  forecast  and  scenarios.  Within  the  group  on  energy 
market  development,  a  subgroup  on  energy  infrastructure  has  been  created  to  deal 
with  energy  links  between  Russia  and  the  European  Union.  In  particular,  the 
implementation of projects of common interest for Russia and the EU is examined. 
Further, a study examining the possibility of a synchronous link between the UCTE 

22 
23 
24 
25 

OJ L228, 23.9.1995, p. 1–7 
OJ L 176, 15.7.2003, p.57-78 
OJ L 176, 15.7.2003, p. 37-56 
The progress reports are available on http://ec.europa.eu/energy/russia/joint_progress/index_en.htm  

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system  and  the  Baltic  States  and  further the Russian IPS/UPS system  is  financially 
supported  under  the  2004  TEN-E  budget  line  and  followed-up  in  the  frame  of  the 
above-mentioned subgroup. 

Ukraine  and  Moldova  have  jointly  applied  for  full  membership  of  the  UCTE.  A 
special technical committee within the UCTE has been established to prepare a study 
on the measures Ukraine and Moldova will need to take to connect to the European 
electricity system. 

7. 

OTHER UNION POLICIES WITH A TEN-E DIMENSION 

7.1. 

Environment 

The TEN-E priorities reflect the conclusions of the Stockholm European Council of 
23 and 24 March 2001 concerning the development of the infrastructure needed for 
the operation of the energy market. A special effort should be undertaken to achieve 
the objective of making greater use of renewable energy sources as a contribution to 
a  sustainable  development  policy.  It  is  emphasised  that  the  EU  environmental 
legislation  has  a  substantial  influence.  In  particular,  the  Birds26  and  Habitats27 
the  Strategic 
Directives, 
Environmental Assessment Directive (SEA)29 and the Water Framework Directive30 
have to be complied with. 

Impact  Assessment 

the  Environmental 

(EIA)28, 

The  authorities  in  the  Member  States  are  responsible  for  the  planning  and 
authorisation  procedures  and  have  to  ensure  compliance  with  environmental 
legislation and the final decision is taken by the local authorities. 

In the allocation of the TEN-E budget, a special attention is paid to the conformity of 
co-financed  actions  with  Community  environmental  legislation.  In  particular, 
depending  on  the  nature  of  the  actions  proposed  for  funding,  environmental 
documents were requested such as: 

- Information on actions likely (or not likely) to have significant negative effects on 
Natura 2000 sites (Natura 2000 certificates); 

-  Non-technical  summary  of  the  Environmental  Impact  studies  carried  out  for  the 
action; 

- Information on consultations with environmental authorities, the public concerned 
and, if applicable, with other Member States; 

Pending their – positive - analysis by the Commission services, TEN-E funding was 
approved. 

26 
27 
28 
29 

30 

Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979, OJ L 103, 25.4.1979, p. 1-18 
Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992, OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7-50 
Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985, OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40-48 
Directive  2001/42/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  27  June  2001,  OJ  L  197, 
21.7.2001, p. 30-37 
Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000, OJ L 327, 
22.12.2000, p. 1-73 

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7.2. 

Research and Development 

The  European  Union  supports  energy  research  and  development  under  different 
funding programmes, such as the Framework Programmes (FP) and the "Intelligent 
Energy  –  Europe"  Programme.  These  programmes  encourage  also  some  trans-
European energy networks objectives such as an increased security and diversity of 
energy supply. Under FP6, covering the period 2002-2006, several studies including 
a TEN-E dimension were supported, as for example: 

IRED  -  Integration  of  Renewable Energy Sources and Distributed Generation 

- 
into the European Electricity Grid (FP6) 

FENIX  -  Flexible  Electricity  Networks  to  Integrate  the  Expected  “Energy 

- 
Evolution” (FP6) 

ENCOURAGED – Energy Corridor Optimisation for the European Markets of 

- 
Gas, Electricity and Hydrogen (FP6) 

In addition, the "Intelligent Energy – Europe" Programme supported projects like: 

RESPOND  -  Renewable  Electricity  Supply  –  Interactions  with  Conventional 

- 
Power Generation, Networks and Demand 

TRADEWIND – Wind Power Integration and Exchange in the Trans-European 

- 
Power Markets. 

7.3. 

Competition 

When  awarding  TEN-E  funding,  a  special  attention  is  paid  to  the  compliance  of 
selected gas pipelines projects with the Third Party Access regime as defined in the 
gas Directive 2003/55/EC31, and particularly with Article 22. A Third Party Access 
regime  is  also  applicable  to  electricity  projects,  as  specified  in  the  electricity 
Directive 2003/54/EC32. 

31 
32 

OJ L 176, 15.7.2003, p.57-78 
OJ L 176, 15.7.2003, p. 37-56 

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