On the Commission delegated regulation of 28 November 2023 amending Regulation (EU) No 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the Union list of projects of common interest and projects of mutual interest

B90161/2024

European Parliament resolution on the Commission delegated regulation of 28 November 2023 amending Regulation (EU) No 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the Union list of projects of common interest and projects of mutual interest

(2023/3007(DEA))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission delegated regulation (C(2023)7930),

– having regard to Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2022 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure, amending Regulations (EC) No 715/2009, (EU) 2019/942 and (EU) 2019/943 and Directives 2009/73/EC and (EU) 2019/944, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 347/2013, and in particular Article 3(4) thereof,

– having regard to Rule 111(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the motion for a resolution by the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy,

Be compatible with the climate goals

A. whereas the Paris Agreement on climate change commits the Parties to holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels;

B. whereas greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels are the largest contributor to climate change; whereas the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) marked the beginning of the end for fossil fuels; whereas the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC), recommend to ‘urgently and fully phasing out fossil fuel subsidies in the EU, in line with existing commitments’; whereas fossil-fuels transport infrastructure is designed to last at least 40 to 50 years and in some cases even longer; whereas the construction of fossil-fuels infrastructure projects listed in the 1st Union PCI/PMI list projects perpetuate a fossil fuel lock-in incompatible with the commitments under the Paris Agreement;

Allowing renewables-based hydrogen only

C. whereas, according to IRENA, 96 % of the global hydrogen production is from fossil fuels and only around 4 % comes from electrolysis; whereas the ‘hydrogen ready’ projects, included on the list which could transport hydrogen blends with fossil gas for numerous years, are not assessed towards the EU 2030 and its climate-neutrality objectives; whereas a majority of the 1st PCI/PMI list hydrogen infrastructure projects aim at transporting including or exclusively fossil based hydrogen; whereas electrolysers are non-eligible for financing under CEF, meaning that European financing will not prioritise electricity-based hydrogen; whereas the 1st PCI/PMI list contains 65 hydrogen, and 17 electrolyser projects;

D. whereas in its opinion No 09/2023, the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) of 29 September 2023 on the draft regional PCI/PMI lists of proposed hydrogen projects, ACER acknowledged that it ‘is unable to assess the consistent application of the criteria of the TEN-E Regulation and of the cost-benefit analysis to all the candidate projects’; whereas ACER recall that ‘it is important [...] to avoid possible overinvestments’; whereas the generation of stranded hydrogen infrastructure assets must be avoided to enable the channelling of scarce public money to more efficient climate solutions where possible;

Reducing emissions at the source rather to transport and store CO2

E. whereas according to ESABCC, ‘CCU/CCS [...] are less efficient or have higher sustainability risks compared to other mitigation pathways such as energy efficiency improvements and direct electrification’; whereas the 1st PCI/PMI draft list contains 14 CO2 network projects;

F. whereas CO2 is produced when combusting fossil fuels; whereas environmentally safe, sustainable and permanent CO2 geological storage may play a limited role in achieving climate-neutrality, if any; whereas CCS should be strictly limited to unavoidable industrial process emissions;

Don’t fund corruption and war

Melita

G. whereas the European Union is founded on the values of the rule of law and respect for human rights;

H. whereas the Maltese anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated in a car bomb attack on 16 October 2017; whereas at the time of her assassination, Daphne Caruana Galizia was investigating a large cache of internal documents from ElectroGas Malta Ltd;

I. whereas the present 1st PCI/PMI list of projects includes the gas pipeline interconnection between Malta and Italy, the Melita TransGas Pipeline (‘MTGP’) operated by ElectroGas; whereas the ultimate beneficial owners of ElectroGas include Yorgen Fenech, who is accused of complicity in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia; whereas ElectroGas is contractually eligible for around EUR 85 million in ‘compensation’ when and if the Melita TransGas pipeline is commissioned; whereas the proposed Melita TransGas pipeline, estimated to cost EUR 400 million, would lock Malta in a dirty fossil fuel future for decades to come;

Eastmed

J. whereas according to Article 3 of the Lisbon Treaty, the aim of the European Union is to promote peace;

K. whereas the EastMed Pipeline bears a high risk of reigniting tensions and military confrontation in the Eastern Mediterranean, notably by fuelling the conflict between Greece and Cyprus on the one hand - and Türkiye on the other - regarding the demarcation of respective maritime borders as well as the status of Cyprus; whereas the EastMed project has the potential to pose a significant security risk as its implementation correlates/interacts with regional conflicts in Israel, Palestine and Lebanon as well as in Libya;

L. whereas an exploration and export of gas resources off the coast of Gaza for export to Europe via Israel especially in the context of the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza could constitute both a security risk as well as a disregard for the basic needs of the Palestinian population in Gaza, that has currently no access to fuel and electricity;

M. whereas the total annual GHG emissions from fossil gas supplied through the EastMed pipeline - including the leakage of methane - would amount 27.7 million tonnes CO2 equivalent annually;

N. whereas the present 1st Union list of projects of common interest include the gas pipeline interconnection from the East Mediterranean gas reserves to Greece mainland via Cyprus and Crete (‘EastMed Pipeline’);

Costs in a context of energy crisis and energy poverty

O. whereas, in its resolution on the ‘EU’s response to the increase in energy prices in Europe’, the European Parliament recalled the increase in energy prices that is putting pressure on numerous European households; whereas this resolution recalled that renewable energy and energy efficiency are ‘imperative to guaranteeing lower energy prices, security of supply and strategic autonomy;

P. whereas, according to IRENA, hydrogen pipelines can be 10-50 % more expensive; whereas ‘every conversion step leads to energy losses, which increase the renewable capacity needed upstream to satisfy a specific end use’;

Q. whereas it is crucial to reach the Union goals of security of supply and energy independence but where overcapacity will only lead to higher tariffs, undermining the competitiveness of industries and raising the energy bills for households;

1. Objects to the Commission delegated regulation;

2. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and to notify it that the delegated regulation cannot enter into force;

3. Calls on the Commission to submit a new delegated act which avoids the construction of any new direct and indirect fossil fuel infrastructure that might fund corruption and war while ensuring compatibility with the Paris Agreement;

4. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.