Since the first Union list of common projects of interest, published in 2013, EU financial support to cross-border energy infrastructure projects have contributed to providing affordable, secure and sustainable energy to EU citizens and businesses.
Projects of Mutual Interest were introduced through the 2022 TEN-E rules revision.
Projects of Common and Mutual Interest
Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) are key cross-border infrastructure projects that link the energy systems of EU countries.
They are intended to help the EU achieve its energy policy and climate objectives: affordable, secure and sustainable energy for all citizens and the long-term decarbonisation of the economy in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
To become a PCI, the project has to be necessary for at least 1 of the energy infrastructure priority corridors and areas mentioned in the revised TEN-E Regulation, have a significant impact on energy markets and market integration in at least 2 EU countries, boost competition on energy markets and help the EU's energy security by diversifying sources, as well as contribute to the EU's climate and energy goals by integrating renewables.
Projects of Mutual Interest (PMIs) are projects promoted by the EU in cooperation with countries outside the EU. They contribute to achieving the EU’s energy and climate objectives, as well as to their own countries’ sustainability objectives. This is a new category of projects that can be supported following the 2022 revision of the Trans-European Networks for Energy policy.
To become a PMI, the project needs to contribute significantly to the EU’s decarbonisation objectives and those of the non-EU country involved, including through the integration of renewable energy into the grid and the transmission of renewable generation to major consumption centres and storages sites.
In both cases, potential overall benefits of the project must outweigh its costs.
Benefits of PCI/PMI status
Projects of Common Interest benefit from
- accelerated planning and permit granting
- a single national authority for obtaining permits within 3.5 years
- improved regulatory conditions, including incentives and rules for the allocation of costs across borders
- lower administrative costs due to streamlined environmental assessment processes
- increased stakeholder engagement via consultations
- increased visibility to investors
PCIs and PMIs also have the right to apply for funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
Project map and examples
The Commission regularly updates the PCI-PMI interactive map, which is a transparency platform providing information about all ongoing PCIs and PMIs. The platform provides up to date information on each project’s geographic positioning, implementation plan, benefits to the countries involved and the potential EU financial support available to that project.
Consult the PCI-PMI interactive map
In the past decade, thanks to the TEN-E policy and financial support delivered through the Connecting Europe Facility, cohesion funds, and other instruments, several new electricity transmission lines, gas pipelines, storages and LNG terminals were completed in the Western Europe and North Sea region, the Nordic and Baltic Sea region and the Central and South-Eastern region, ending the isolation of these regions from the gas and electricity markets and creating a truly interconnected European network.
The Celtic Interconnector: It connects Ireland and Brittany in France and will enable the 2 countries to exchange 700 megawatts of electricity, the equivalent of supplying power to around 450 000 homes. It will provide Ireland’s only direct energy connection to continental Europe, therefore enhancing security of supply, reducing the cost of electricity and facilitating Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon energy future. The project will also provide a direct fibre-optic communications link between Ireland and France.
The Celtic Interconnector factsheet
Baltic Synchronisation project: Electricity interconnections have been built with EU support between Estonia and Finland (Estlink I and II), Lithuania and Sweden (Nord Balt), and Lithuania and Poland (LitPol Link), in line with the aims of the Commission's Baltic energy market interconnection plan. The Baltic States joined the European continental electricity grid after fully disconnecting from Russian and Belarussian networks on 9 February 2025.
The Baltic Synchronisation project factsheet
German North-South Connection: This project is part of the German grid expansion programme and aims to increase capacity at Germany's northern and southern borders. The increased capacity will allow for greater integration of renewable energy and will make the energy supply from these sources more stable, therefore improving energy security. The project will also avoid spill-overs into the grid of neighbouring countries (such as Hungary, Poland, the Czechia and Slovakia). Spill-overs occur when the electricity produced in one country is diverted to a different part of its territory through a neighbouring country's grid. The project is part of the priority corridor for North-South interconnection in Western Europe and is expected to be completed in 2025.
IGB Pipeline: The Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) was inaugurated on 1 October 2022 and provides a direct link between the national natural gas systems of Greece and Bulgaria. It will increase the security of energy supply to the South-East European region by diversifying routes and sources from Caspian and Middle Eastern sources, connecting to the Turkey-Greece-Italy (ITGI) Interconnection project. The IGB pipeline has an initial capacity of 3 million cubic metres per year (in the South-North direction) and received €45 million from the European Energy Programme for Recovery and €39 million from the structural funds.
The Baltic Pipe: Inaugurated on 1 October 2022, the gas interconnector between Denmark and Poland is a key diversification project bringing up to 10 billion cubic metres of gas annually from the Northern Seas to Poland and further to Central and Eastern Europe, a region historically dependent on one single gas supplier. The Baltic Pipe has been a PCI since 2013 and has received around €267 million of EU funding through the Connecting Europe Facility, helping to complete the preparatory studies and construction works.
Balticconnector: The Balticconnector pipeline, together with a gas link between Poland and Lithuania (GIPL), connects the Finnish gas network with the Continental European Network, ending Finland's gas isolation. The project also allows Finland and the Baltic States to diversify their gas sources, routes and counterparts, increasing security of gas supply and energy solidarity in the region. Moreover, the project enhances competition on the market which can help reduce gas prices.
It was completed in 2019 and includes the construction of pipeline systems, stations and facilities throughout Finland and Estonia. It was part of the priority corridor for the Baltic energy market interconnection plan.
SINCRO.GRID: The project is a virtual cross-border control center that facilitates new electricity generation from renewable energy sources in Slovenia and Croatia and its safe and efficient integration into the grid. It has the potential to increase the security of supply not just in the region, but also further afield, given that this area hosts major transit flows from East (Bulgaria / Romania / Ukraine) to West (Italy / Switzerland / France / Germany).
As well as encouraging investment in renewables, the project will provide Slovenia and Croatia – and neighbouring countries such as Hungary, Austria and Italy – with improved security of supply, helping to overcome potential difficulties caused by the variability of intermittent renewable energy sources. This will provide a more reliable and more sustainable operating system and, ultimately, potentially cheaper prices for consumers.
Smart Border Initiative: The Smart Border Initiative is a smart grid project that optimises the use of resources and at the same time addresses the needs of regions separated by national borders. This project will enable the Saarland (Germany) and Lorraine (France) regions to develop joint solutions for common challenges by making better use of the region's energy efficiency and renewable energy potential.
This project is intended to serve as a model for other regions that will pave the way for further cross-border cooperation. Optimising resources through cross-border operations such as this will provide a cost-effective way of enhancing security and encouraging investment, in particular in renewables. This will foster competition and ultimately provide consumers with more stable, more sustainable and cheaper sources of energy.