Key cross-border infrastructure projects

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 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.

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).

The transparency 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 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.

Related links 

• Delegated Regulation as regards the Union list of projects of common interest and projects of mutual interest (EU/2024/1041)
• Regulation on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure (EU) No 347/2013
• PCI-PMI transparency platform