Today the Council adopted a regulation establishing a programme to aid economic recovery by granting Community financial assistance to projects in the field of energy, approving all the European Parliament's first reading amendments (3659/09, 11318/09 ADD1 REV1).
The regulation is part of the European economic recovery plan endorsed by the European Council in December 2008 (17271/08) in response to the global financial crisis and economic slowdown. That plan provides a framework for measures taken by each member state in response to its specific circumstances, and identifies a number of actions to be taken at EU level.
The regulation is designed to aid economic recovery within the EU, face the demands of energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing spending in defined strategic sectors.
The regulation lists 47 projects and the Community contribution for each of them, with a total financial envelope for implementation in 2009 and 2010 of EUR 3,980 million divided as follows:
- 18 gas infrastructure projects: EUR 1,440 million;
- 9 electricity infrastructure projects: EUR 910 million;
- 2 small island projects: EUR 15 million;
- 5 offshore wind-energy projects: EUR 565 million;
- 13 carbon capture and storage projects: EUR 1050 million.
For each of these projects, specific proposals - in particular for implementing the project on the ground - will be submitted to management committees which will check whether the proposals meet the selection criteria set in the regulation, the most important of which are maturity and lack of access to finance. Owing to the urgent need for stimulus, all individual legal commitments implementing the budgetary commitments made in 2009 and 2010 will be made by 31 December 2010.
The regulation will enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
Bron : Raad van de Europese Unie