In order to enhance energy security, accelerate the energy transition and promote clean mobility, investments under STEP and the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility provided for by Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 of the European Parliament and of the Council should be complemented by creating a new specific objective for the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund under policy objective 2 to promote energy interconnectors and related transmission, distribution, storage and supporting infrastructure, as well as to protect and safeguard that infrastructure and to enhance the deployment of charging infrastructure. Supporting energy infrastructure refers to any facilities, equipment, and systems that support the interconnection of Member States’ transmission systems by enabling the generation, transmission, distribution, and storage of energy. In order to accelerate investments in those fields, priorities dedicated to that specific objective should benefit from additional one-off pre-financing of 20 % of the amounts programmed under those priorities and from the possibility of applying a higher Union co-financing rate. Managing authorities are expected to aim to leverage a maximum amount of private finance, where relevant. That enhanced investment effort will enable energy-intensive sectors to access more stable and diverse energy sources in a less fragmented internal energy market, buttressing their sustainability and competitiveness. Moreover, expanding the ERDF’s support for decarbonisation projects allows energy-intensive industries to prioritise high-impact innovations that are aligned with the Union’s climate objectives.
Text as published in the Official Journal, reproduced verbatim (including any typographical quirks of the source). For the authentic version, see EUR-Lex.
