Connecting Europe Facility – Energy

The Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the second edition of the EU's flagship programme the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). CEF 2 will continue to fund key projects in the areas of transport, digital and energy. It will run from 2021 to 2027, with a significant overall budget of €33.71 billion. The budgets for the energy sector will be €5.84 billion. 

In the energy sector, the programme aims to contribute to further integration of the European energy market, improving the interoperability of energy networks across borders and sectors, facilitating decarbonisation, and ensuring security of supply. Funding will also be available for cross-border projects in the field of renewable energy generation. When defining award criteria, consistency with EU and national energy and climate plans, including the principle of 'energy efficiency first', will be taken into account.

 INEA, which will become the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) on 1 April 2021, will manage the Transport and Energy parts of the CEF programme. The provisional CEF deal will come into force following final approval by the Council and Parliament, and will apply retroactively from 1 January.

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Energy programme for 2021-2027 has been extended with a cross-border renewable energy window to boost EU decarbonisation by optimising national efforts for deployment of renewable energy. The European Commission launched a call the 14th of March 2022 to obtain the status of cross-border renewable energy projects and become eligible for CEF funding. 

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