This Workshop will look at the opportunities for streamlining and simplifying the EU network regulatory framework, at the most effective approach to enable efficient anticipatory investments, and at the regualtory approaches to electricity interconnectors with third countries.
EU energy grids play an essential role in supporting market integration, promoting competition and enabling the increasing penetration of renewable energy sources (renewable-based electricity and renewable gases, including renewable hydrogen)[1]. Without investment in grid expansion, modernisation, digitalisation and flexibility, connection delays will increase, and renewables and electrification will stall. In May 2022, the Commission estimated that €584 billion in grid investments are needed before the end of this decade to meet the REPowerEU objectives.
Over the years, legislation has improved the framework for grid planning, development and operation. The 2013 Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) Regulation[2] established a new legal framework for cross-border energy infrastructure, replacing the 2006 bottom-up approach, by focussing on European planning – through the TYNDPs and the identification of Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) – and tools – such as regional cooperation, permitting streamlining and the cross-border cost allocation (CBCA) – to enable their implementation. Following a full evaluation in 2020, the TEN-E Regulation was revised in 2022[3] to be aligned with the European Green Deal’s objectives. The main changes concerned removing fossil gas from the scope, including hydrogen infrastructure in its scope, as well as a strengthened focus on offshore grids to facilitate achieving the offshore ambitions set out in the EU offshore renewable strategy[4]. The TEN-E framework now also includes Projects of Mutual Interest (PMIs) – cross-border projects with neighbouring non-EU countries – alongside the PCIs.
However, the evolving geopolitical context and risks and the increasingly ambitious energy and climate targets call for a reassessment of the regulatory framework applicable to energy grids. For this purpose, from May to August this year, the European Commission run a public consultation on the legal framework for European grids. The feedback received will feed into the Commission’s work on the European Grids Package, as part of the Competitiveness Compass[5] for the EU and the Clean Industrial Deal[6], which is foreseen for publication before the end of 2025. The key objective of the European Grids Package will be to help upgrade and expand grids to support rapid electrification and speed up permitting
Against this background, this Workshop will cover three aspects aimed at enhancing the legal framework and the role of European energy grids.
Earlier in the year, the FSR published a Policy Brief on ‘Offshore wind energy in the North Seas: crafting collaboration and navigating governance’[7] and a Policy Paper on ‘Trans-European energy networks (TEN-E) – ideas for simplification in view of accelerating project implementation’[8], providing suggestions for the review of the TEN-E Regulation, by focussing on the main priorities at the top of the Commission’s agenda, namely simplification as well as competitiveness and affordability. Those suggestions were elaborated keeping in mind the urgency to invest in grids as well as the good track-record of the TEN-E policy framework.
The European Parliament recently adopted an own-initiative report on ‘Electricity Grids: the backbone of the EU energy system’[9] that highlights the critical role of modernising EU’s grid infrastructure for the EU’s energy transition and security. The report also: (a) emphases the importance of grid resilience, of enhancing the regulatory framework and financing, and the role of anticipatory investments; (b) underlines the importance of local-level distribution grids and calls for a dedicated framework for their planning and financing; and (c) recommends making grid planning more efficient, taking into account the needs of sector integration at transmission and distribution levels.
At the same time, despite several PCIs having been implemented in the past decade, ACER’s monitoring report[10] highlights delays, both in project preparation (technical studies, financing) and permitting procedures. It is therefore important and urgent to look at the planning and regulatory frameworks from the perspective of speeding up implementation. Whilst synergies can be built in certain areas – e.g. for scenarios underpinning modelling -, in other areas the differences between the well-meshed electricity grid and the green field nature of both hydrogen and CO2 networks should be acknowledged.
Anticipatory investments are forward-looking infrastructure investments based on identified medium- and long-term network needs. The lengthy timeframes traditionally required to develop grid projects might lead to significant delays in strengthening the energy networks and connecting new resources, which are instrumental to the energy transition, to the grid[11]. Therefore, now, more than ever, anticipatory investments are key not to delay the energy transition.
In June 2025, the Commission published a Notice on anticipatory investments for developing forward-looking electricity networks[12], to support Member States, national regulatory authorities and distribution and transmission system operators with recommendations for action in the whole process leading to a final investment decision. More specifically, the Notice covers and provides recommendations on a number of areas: (i) improvements in network planning to allow forward looking investment; (ii) the scrutiny regime for network development plans; (iii) allowing anticipatory investments while keeping electricity network tariffs and connection charges low; (iv) the regulatory scrutiny of network investments and incentives; (v) the perceived risks and risk mitigation strategies.
Previously, ACER and CEER published a Position Paper on anticipatory investment[13], highlighting, inter alia, that anticipatory approaches are already used in network planning in several Member States, that the regulatory treatment does not differentiate anticipatory investments from other investments, that planning activities help evaluating anticipatory investments and that there are limited coordination roles on anticipatory investments. The Position Paper also offered a number of recommendations.
The growing difficulty in building the renewable-based generation, necessary to support the decarbonisation process of the industrial sector, within the European Union, highlights the need to consider the opportunity to expand the geographical scope for the location of such generation to non-European regions. These regions are typically characterised by a better endowment of space, wind and solar resources and are therefore capable of providing energy production at competitive prices in the future.
In this context, some electricity interconnection projects have already been launched – both under the regulated and unregulated regimes – between countries in the Mediterranean basin, aiming at a deeper energy sector integration. This process can generate significant benefits both for the economic development of third countries and for the achievement of the EU’s climate objectives.
The European regulatory framework, extremely mature and detailed when it comes to interconnections between Member States, is still incomplete and not always clear with regard to integration with third countries, especially when these are implemented as merchant initiatives.
Furthermore, the rules that have stratified since the start of the liberalisation process do not fully take into account the needs of possible unregulated investments made by private operators who base their financing model on the cost competitiveness of generation outside the EU. These investments require a clear and stable framework for access to the European electricity network, so as to ensure the possibility of using long-term contracts (over a decade) with potential off-takers, and avoiding the risk of not being able to honour them due to physical or regulatory limitations in accessing the EU markets.
In July 2025, the Florence School of Regulation published a Research Report[14] on this topic, proposing different regulatory schemes which might serve as a blueprint for the regulatory framework for electricity interconnectors with third countries.
To discuss these three topics, the Workshop will be structured in three sessions:
Sustainability assessment
The FSR assesses the sustainability and carbon footprint of all its Workshops of the Regulatory Policy Workshop Series. This Workshop is run ‘in presence’ to promote more effective interaction and discussion. Participants travelling to Florence by car or by air will be encouraged to offset any carbon emissions related to their travel. It is considered that, in this way, a suitable balance is achieved between the effectiveness of the policy dialogue and the net carbon footprint of the event.
Gender equality statement of commitment
At FSR, we actively work to achieve gender-balanced representation at all of our events. As a platform that connects diverse voices and perspectives in the sector, we firmly value inclusive and gender-balanced panel debates and training courses.
Kindly note that this event is by invitation only.
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