YEEES is a long-standing seminar series offering PhD students in energy engineering and energy economics modelling the opportunity to present their work and receive feedback from peers and senior experts.

The Florence School of Regulation is pleased to host the 37th edition of the Young Energy Economists and Engineers Seminar (YEEES), a long-standing network and working paper seminar for PhD researchers in the fields of energy economics, engineering, and energy system modelling.

Founded in 2006 by Yannick Perez and Leonardo Meeus, YEEES brings together emerging scholars twice a year to present their work, receive constructive feedback, and build a community of young researchers across Europe and beyond. Previous editions have been organised in Leuven, Dresden, Vienna, Paris, Madrid, Florence, Cambridge, Dublin, Berlin, Stockholm, Basel, Edinburgh, Nuremberg, Lodz, Delft, Ghent, Copenhagen, and other academic hubs.

We invite PhD students working on topics related to engineering and economic modelling for energy systems to submit an abstract and register for consideration.

About the seminar

YEEES is designed as a working paper seminar that provides PhD students with in-depth feedback on their ongoing research. Each selected participant:

• presents their working paper (15–20 minutes),
• receives comments from two reviewers:
• one senior reviewer (a professor or post-doctoral researcher identified by the organisers),
• one junior reviewer (another participating PhD student),
• acts as a junior reviewer for another participant’s paper.

Review assignments are made by the organisers according to the reviewers’ fields of expertise. The aim is to create a constructive, rigorous, and friendly environment where young researchers can refine their work and expand their academic network.

Who should apply

The seminar is open to PhD students whose research focuses on:

• Energy economics
• Energy system modelling
• Engineering approaches to electricity and gas systems
• Market design and regulatory modelling
• Renewable integration modelling
• Power system flexibility and storage
• Techno-economic analysis and optimisation models
• Demand modelling, forecasting, and related areas

The selection process ensures that accepted abstracts align with the scientific scope of the seminar.

Submission and Selection Process

Participation in the seminar follows a two-stage submission process:

1. Abstract Submission & Registration

Deadline: 18 January 2026

PhD students submit an abstract and register through the online form. Abstracts are evaluated based on their relevance to the seminar’s themes.

2. Notification of Acceptance

23 January 2026

Selected candidates are invited to submit their full papers.

3. Full Paper Submission

Deadline: 29 March 2026

Full papers are required to assign junior and senior reviewers.

4. Reviewer Feedback Submission (Junior Reviewers)

Deadline: 13 April 2026

Each participant submits written feedback on the paper they have been assigned to review.

All selected participants will receive detailed guidance and deadlines by email following acceptance.

Join us in Florence for 3 days of in-person events where we will convene our donors and renowned experts from across the sector. 

A detailed agenda with discussion topics and speakers will follow. In the meantime, here is a list of events that will take place during 8-10 June 2026: 

Monday, 8 June 2026

📌 Policy Advisory Council – Part 1 

The Policy Advisory Council discusses the most topical regulatory and policy issues and debates and the relevance and robustness of the latest FSR research findings. The meeting gathers experts from the European Commission, the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), the FSR Energy Star and Major Donors and invited renowned academics. 

Please note that this event is by invitation only.

Tuesday, 9 June 2026

📌 Policy Advisory Council – Part 2 

On the second day, participants continue the dialogue, focusing on key regulatory developments and recent research findings.

Please note that this event is by invitation only.

📌 9th meeting of the Equality Platform for the Energy Sector

The Platform is a European Commission-led initiative that currently includes more than 40 members from the energy sector, including the Florence School of Regulation.

Established in October 2021, the Platform provides a dedicated space to discuss equality-related issues, exchange experiences, and promote best practices in diversity and inclusion within the energy sector workplace.

The meeting is exclusive to Platform members. For further information and details on becoming a member, please visit the Platform’s webpage.

📌 LUCE Awards 2026 

The LUCE Awards, organised by the Lights on Women initiative with the support from Edison, celebrates the outstanding contributions of women advancing the Green Transition.

Now in its fourth edition, the LUCE Awards will honour the achievements of two women professionals, with a prize awarded in each of the following categories:

• Emerging Talent: recognising the contributions of up-and-coming female leaders.

• Legacy Women: honouring senior female professionals who have made a lasting impact on the Green Transition.

Watch the highlights from the first, second and third editions.

Learn more and register!

Wednesday, 10 June

📌 Regulatory Policy Workshop  

A full-day policy workshop directed by Alberto Pototschnig, FSR Executive Deputy Director. The workshop will consist of a series of seminars led by topic experts with opportunities for intervention from participants. 

Please note that this event is by invitation only.

During the 16th Florence Intermodal Forum, co-organised by the Transport Area of the Florence School of Regulation together with the EC’s DG MOVE, experts will explore the best practices, identify persistent bottlenecks, and discuss the governance frameworks needed to establish efficient multimodal hubs.

European cities face urgent challenges in decarbonization, congestion, road safety, and managing growing passenger and tourist traffic. Stakeholders must now rethink how people move across and within cities. Over the last few years, Europe has accelerated the rollout of new High-Speed Rail (HSR) corridors, thanks to the 2024 amendment to the TEN-T regulation. However, the challenge is not restricted to building faster lines, but it extends to ensuring that urban multimodal hubs become seamless gateways between long-distance rail and urban mobility. For these reasons, the integration of urban multimodal hubs with the ever-expanding HSR network is pivotal to support the EU’s transport policy agenda.

The recently published High-Speed Rail Action Plan aims to reduce journey times, eliminate cross-border bottlenecks, harmonise standards, and enhance cross-border ticketing systems to promote competition and interoperability in the HSR market. However, there is a need to integrate HSR with urban mobility planning, as urban space constraints, fragmented planning processes, and technical interoperability issues limit the efficiency of all services. Effective urban planning is crucial as it integrates land use, mobility, and accessibility into a cohesive strategy. It ensures that transport infrastructure supports sustainable growth, reduces congestion, and enhances connectivity between neighbourhoods and economic hubs. In the context of HSR, urban planning determines how stations are embedded within cities, influencing patterns of development. Service connectivity and the evolving needs of passengers who are now increasingly using HSR services instead of short-haul flights. This requires reliable and properly integrated last-mile services. However, governance is the critical enabler for seamless mobility as it coordinates the interests and responsibilities of HSR infrastructure managers, train operators, and urban public transport authorities.

Therefore, the 16th Florence Intermodal Forum will explore the best practices, identify persistent bottlenecks, and discuss the governance frameworks needed to establish efficient multimodal hubs. The Forum, co-organised by the Transport Area of the Florence School of Regulation together with the EC’s DG MOVE, will tackle the following questions:

• Integrating High-Speed Rail with Urban Multimodal Hubs: What are the main challenges (e.g., urban space constraints, disparities between urban and rail planning, etc)? What are best practices? What are the key elements of the ideal hub to ensure a seamless flow of travellers?
• Services connectivity: The door-to-door travel offer using EU high-speed rail as the backbone should serve all passenger segments from business to sustainable tourism. What are their needs in terms of last-mile mobility service in cities? What type of investments are necessary?
• Governance – Integration of High-Speed Rail stakeholders with urban mobility stakeholders in order to provide a seamless experience to travellers: Which instruments are currently available or should be developed in order to better coordinate high-speed rail and urban mobility connectivity? Is there a role for multimodal (railway) hub managers? Is there a role for SUMPs to play? What roles for Urban Public Transport Authorities/operators, high-speed rail infrastructure managers and services providers, TEN-T coordinators, others?

Kindly note that the event is by invitation only.

Join this workshop where experts discuss the Commission’s proposals with regards to enhancing European energy infrastructure planning, speeding up European energy infrastructure projects implementation and the European Energy Highways.

Energy networks play an essential role in promoting competition, decarbonisation of energy demand, and security of supply. While the current regulatory framework has successfully supported market integration across the EU, energy networks must now rapidly adapt to a more decentralised, digitalised, and flexible energy system in a fast‑evolving geopolitical context.

On 10 December 2025, the European Commission proposed a European Grids Package and an Energy Highways Initiative to enable energy to flow more efficiently across Member States, integrate cheaper clean energy, accelerate electrification, lower energy prices, and support energy security as Europe moves away from Russian energy imports. The proposals aim to bring a truly European perspective to infrastructure planning, accelerate permitting procedures, and ensure a fairer allocation of costs for cross‑border projects.

The European Grids Package introduces a more centralised approach to infrastructure planning, strengthens EU‑wide cross‑border planning, improves coordination between transmission and distribution grids, incentivises smart and digital grid solutions, and embeds the “energy efficiency first” principle. It comprises two legislative proposals (amending the TEN‑E framework and accelerating permit‑granting procedures) and two guidance notes on grid connections and contracts for difference.

To accelerate implementation, the Package proposes simplified EU‑level permitting frameworks, enhanced support for PCI/PMI projects, improved cost‑benefit transparency, strengthened infrastructure security and resilience (including cyber security), and expanded financing options, including use of congestion income and eligibility for CEF funding.

In parallel, the Energy Highways Initiative identifies eight priority Energy Highways addressing urgent infrastructure bottlenecks, many of which already hold PCI or PMI status under the second Union list published on 1 December 2025. The Commission has committed to fast‑tracking these projects through enhanced political coordination, support to Member States, and strengthened cross‑border permitting cooperation.

Against this background, the Workshop will provide an opportunity to discuss the proposals contained in the European Grids Package and the Energy Highways Initiative.

Kindly note that this event is by invitation only. Reserved to FSR donors.

Join the Autumn Policy Dialogues in November where FSR donors and renowned experts from across the sector will convene on the most pressing policy and regulatory challenges facing the energy sector today.

Competitiveness of European industry is becoming an increasing concern, inter alia in the face of energy prices which are higher than in other parts of the world. High energy prices also impact commercial and residential energy consumers. in his report last year, prof. Mario Draghi indicated that EU companies still face electricity prices that are 2-3 times those in the US and natural gas prices paid are 4-5 times higher . Energy poverty among EU households is also on the rise. The Commission is proposing new policies, also on the basis of the Prof. Draghi’s recommendations. This Workshop will discuss the recent Commission’s recommendations in three areas: acceleration of the deployment of new types of renewable energy, the speeding up of the procedures for the rollout of grids and storage, and on electricity network charges.

Join this online workshop to learn more on how climate policies can be designed to be socially and economically acceptable.

Achieving climate neutrality requires ambitious and effective climate targets and the ability to implement widely accepted policies. Many existing assessments focus narrowly on effectiveness, overlooking critical dimensions like feasibility and public perception. Furthermore, the success of the EU in reaching its net-zero goals depends not only on global and European policy action but also on the capacity of local and regional authorities to implement these policies. Cities and regions are at the forefront of the climate battle, yet they often face challenges in acting.

In this context, the Horizon Europe project CAPABLE aims to provide recommendations for designing socially and economically acceptable climate policy measures for 2030 and beyond. CAPABLE also provides insights on how local policy actors perceive their contribution to major EU strategies such as the European Green Deal.

Hosted online by the European University Institute (EUI) with expert contributions from the CAPABLE consortium, this capacity-building workshop will explore how EU climate policies work, how they intersect with local realities and how cities and regions can shape and support a just and effective transition. The workshop is tailored for local and regional policymakers, civil servants, and stakeholders engaged in climate and energy governance.

Target audience:

Local and regional policy-makers, civil servants, and stakeholders already familiar with energy and climate policies.

Learning outcomes:

Assess the main EU climate policies and their local implications

Grasp the potential and limits of different policy assessment methods

Understand determinants and factors that influence the acceptability of climate policies, and propose policy design features to make policies acceptable

Understand how local actors perceive their roles and EU policies on climate policies.

Draft programme:

14:00 – 14:10 | Welcome & Introduction

14:10 – 15:40 | Module 1: EU Climate Policies and Implications for Local Authorities

Policy Assessment: What Works? (Kai Lessmann and Jan Minx, PIK and Marie Raude, EUI)

The roles of cities in addressing climate change (Yann Françoise, City of Paris)

15:40 – 15:55 | Coffee Break

15:55 – 17:20 | Module 2: Perception and acceptability of Climate Policies

Social Acceptability and Feasibility of Fit-For-55 Policies (Keith Smith, ETH Zurich)

Local Policymakers’ Perceptions (Pablo Núñez Yebra, UAB and Alessia Casamassima, EUI)

17:20 – 17:45 | The role of Local Authorities in the European Green Deal and Competitiveness Compass

Eugenia Mansutti, Eurocities

17:45 – 17:50 | Conclusions

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101056891.

At the EUI and the Robert Schuman Centre, we are dedicated to removing barriers and providing equal opportunities for everyone. Please indicate in the registration form your accessibility needs, if any. Alternatively, you can contact the logistics organiser of the event. 

This workshop will examine whether Italian economic regulation of water and urban waste services is making a tangible contribution to the financeability of the sector.

Economic regulation of water services was introduced in Italy in 2012. The regulator took charge of an industry that had been underinvesting for decades, which led to service levels among the lowest in Europe. ARERA took its first decisions and was subjected to legal challenge immediately by various stakeholders. Entering the fourth regulatory period, the water economic regulation appears to have overcome those challenges, promoted efficiency and increased investments as well as service quality levels. In 2018 urban waste management was subjected to economic regulation. ARERA had the task to draw the boundaries between areas where operators had clearly market power-requiring ex ante intervention-and areas where market dynamics could deliver economically efficient outcomes. Arera put in place a regulatory framework that was also challenged.

At the beginning of the third regulatory period the consolidation of the regulatory framework is underway also for waste. The regulator, utilities, credit agencies, banks, academics and practitioners are coming together to reflect upon the impact of ARERA’s regulation on water and urban waste management services and explore how it can help for a future of evolving operational and market challenges.

The event is by invitation only.

At the EUI and the Robert Schuman Centre, we are dedicated to removing barriers and providing equal opportunities for everyone. Please indicate in the registration form your accessibility needs, if any. Alternatively, you can contact the logistics organiser of the event. 

This is a specialised training on water supply and sanitation regulation in the Western Balkans.

The World Bank’s Danube Water Program and WAREG, the European association of water regulators, are pleased to co-organise a regional regulation workshop on water supply and sanitation (WSS) in the Western Balkans. Taking place from 25 to 26 September 2025 at the Robert Schuman Centre in Florence, this two-day event will bring together regulators and sector experts to present and discuss the findings of a comprehensive review on WSS regulation in the Western Balkans, developed for the upcoming Danube State of the Sector Report 2025.

The workshop will address key regulatory challenges and explore practical solutions for enhancing regulatory practices and tools, with regard to tariff setting, and efficiency and service quality monitoring. It will also focus on the latest EU legislative developments and their impacts on regulatory authorities in the WSS sector. The programme includes in-depth training sessions delivered in collaboration with the Florence School of Regulation, offering valuable learning opportunities for regulatory professionals from across the region.

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.

• Streamlining and simplifying the regulatory framework

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.

• Promoting efficiency in anticipatory investments

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.

• Enabling energy interconnectors with third countries

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:

• Session I, in the morning, will look at the opportunities for streamlining and siplifying the TEN-E regulatory framework;
• Session II, also in the morning, will focus on the most effective approach to enable efficient anticipatory investments,
• Session III, in the afternoon, will discuss the regualtory approaches to electricity interconnectors with third countries outlined in the FSR Research Report.

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.

• [1] Commission Staff Working Document implementing the Repower EU Action Plan: Investment Needs, Hydrogen Accelerator and Achieving the Bio-Methane Targets accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, REPowerEU Plan, Brussels, 18.5.2022, SWD(2022)230 final.
• [2] Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure and repealing Decision No 1364/2006/EC and amending Regulations (EC) No 713/2009, (EC) No 714/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009.
• [3] 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.
• [4] Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, The European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, An EU Strategy to harness the potential of offshore renewable energy for a climate neutral future, Brussels, 19.11.2020, COM(2020) 741 final.
• [5] https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/competitiveness-compass_en.
• [6] https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/clean-industrial-deal_en.
• [7] Leonardo Meeus, Offshore wind energy in the North Seas: crafting collaboration and navigating governance, FSR Policy Brief, issue 2025/02, January 2025.
• [8] Catharina Sikow-Magny, Trans-European energy networks (TEN-E) – ideas for simplification in view of accelerating project implementation, FSR Policy Paper, RSC PP 2025/13, July 2025.
• [9] European Parliament resolution of 19 June 2025 on electricity grids: the backbone of the EU energy system (2025/2006(INI)), available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-10-2025-0136_EN.html.
• [10] Consolidated report on the progress of electricity and gas Projects of Common Interest, 2022; electricity infrastructure development to support a competitive and sustainable energy system, 2024
• [11] For example, according to Wind Europe data, wind farms might have to wait as long as 9 years to get access to the network.
• [12] C(2025) 3291 final. This notice defines anticipatory investment as “as investments into grid infrastructure assets that proactively address network development needs beyond the ones corresponding to reinforcements relating to currently existing grid connection requests by generation or demand projects” (page 3).
• [13] ACER-CEER, Position on anticipatory investments, March 2024, available at: https://www.ceer.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ACER-CEER-Position-on-Anticipatory-Invesments.pdf.
• [14] Alberto Pototschnig and Leonardo Meeus, The regulatory regime applicable to electricity interconnectors with third countries, Research Project Report, Florence School of Regulation, July 2025, available at: https://cadmus.eui.eu/server/api/core/bitstreams/bd9cf077-70df-4d45-95ff-cf8cd56b8e63/content.

In this workshop, participants will explore the main concepts of the Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) and their significance in ensuring fair and transparent wholesale energy markets. The programme will cover key topics, including the purpose, scope, and actors of REMIT, the concept of inside information and the prohibition of insider trading and market manipulation, with examples of manipulative practices. The main obligations established by REMIT on market participants and persons professionally arranging and executing transactions (PPAETs) will also be discussed. Through engaging discussions and practical insights, attendees will deepen their knowledge of the basics of market integrity and transparency principles and regulatory compliance.

The workshop is organised in the context of the training course REMIT and its implementation, but it’s also open to external participants. For the course participants, attendance at the workshop is optional and is included in the course fee.

Programme

9.15 – 9.30 Introduction to the workshop
Alberto Pototschnig | FSR

9.30 – 10.30 Introduction to REMIT: purpose, scope and actors
Alberto Pototschnig | FSR

10.30 – 10.45 Coffee break

10.45 – 11.45 Insider trading
Sofia Nicolai | FSR

11.45 – 12.00 Q&A

12.00 – 13.00 Lunch break

13.00 – 14.00 Market manipulation
Alberto Pototschnig | FSR

14.00 – 14.15 Coffee break

14.15 – 15.15 Introduction to REMIT obligations
Sofia Nicolai | FSR

Register by: 15 October 2025

Workshop fees:

• General fee: 300 EUR
• Associate donors fee (10%): 270 EUR
• Major donors fee (20%): 240 EUR
• Star donors fee (25%): 225 EUR

Learn more about the FSR-ACER residential course REMIT and its implementation in Florence, which covers the scope of the EU Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) and the way in which it is implemented.

Achieving climate neutrality in the EU and globally requires ambitious and effective climate targets and the ability to implement widely accepted policies. The road to net-zero is hindered by fragmented policymaking, uneven public support, and limited tools to assess climate action’s broader social and political implications. Many existing assessments focus narrowly on effectiveness, overlooking critical dimensions like feasibility and public perception.

In this context, the Horizon Europe project CAPABLE aims to provide recommendations for designing socially and economically acceptable climate policy measures for 2030 and beyond. CAPABLE draws on economics, sociology, political science and psychology to capture climate policy’s multidimensional outcomes and implications.

This CAPABLE capacity-building workshop will share project findings for effective and acceptable climate policies at the European level. Organised online by the European University Institute (EUI) with contributions from leading experts in the CAPABLE consortium, it will focus on climate policies, their effectiveness and their acceptability. The lectures will be complemented with extensive question-and-answer sessions and some testimonials from practitioners.

Target audience:

Policymakers from EU institutions, national ministries, environmental agencies, industry executives, consultants, researchers and NGOs.

Learning outcomes:

• Assess the effectiveness of the current and future EU climate policies
• Grasp the potential and limits of different policy assessment methods
• Understand determinants and factors that influence the acceptability of climate policies, and propose policy design features to make policies acceptable
• Have an overview of the acceptability of newly implemented and potential climate policies, including the Fit for 55

Draft programme:

09:00 – 09:10 | Welcome & Introduction

09:10 – 10:40 | Module 1: EU Climate Policies and Their Effectiveness

• Introduction to EU Climate Policies (Simone Borghesi, EUI)
• Policy Assessment: What Works? (Kai Lessmann and Jan Minx, PIK and Marie Raude, EUI)

10:40 – 10:55 | Coffee Break

10:55 – 12:20 | Module 2: Acceptability of Climate Policies

• Determinants of Public Acceptance of Climate Policies: A Multi-disciplinary Overview (Mary Sanford, CMCC/EIEE)
• Social Acceptability and Feasibility of Fit-For-55 Policies (Keith Smith, ETH)

12:20 – 12:45 | Testimonial on science for European climate policies

• Vicky Pollard, DG Climate Action, European Commission

12:45 – 12:50 | Conclusions

A second capacity-building workshop is scheduled on Thursday 27 November afternoon with a focus on climate policies at the local level. Click here to learn more about it.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101056891.

This workshop will explore grid-enhancing technologies and smart network solutions for EU transmission and distribution networks, and discuss how their adoption can be effectively and efficiently enabled. It will also examine the evolving cybersecurity framework resulting from the implementation of the NCCS.

Interconnected and stable energy networks are the backbone of the EU’s internal energy market and key enablers of the green transition. To help deliver the European Green Deal, the European Commission proposed a Grid Action Plan in November 2023 to ensure that EU electricity grids operate more efficiently and are deployed faster and more widely. The Commission estimates that €584 billion in investment will be needed in electricity grids this decade—representing a substantial share of the total investment required for a clean energy transition in the electricity sector.

The Action Plan highlights two areas for future focus: cross-border interconnections and national transmission and distribution grids. In particular, distribution networks will need to grow and evolve to accommodate increasing decentralised renewable generation and new flexible demand (e.g. heat pumps and electric vehicle charging). These grids are assuming new roles, becoming facilitators of a more complex system—and must evolve into smart grids: digital, real-time monitored, remotely controllable, and cybersecure. Research and innovation will be crucial in supporting this transformation, especially as around 40% of Europe’s distribution networks are over 40 years old and in need of modernisation. Industry estimates suggest that €375–425 billion in distribution grid investment will be needed by 2030.

Smart grids offer at least two major benefits. First, they make the system more flexible, supporting the energy transition at lower cost. In many cases, smarter solutions can even substitute for traditional capital investments in grid infrastructure. Second, smart grids enable better connection and management of flexible resources—critical for integrating increasing shares of intermittent renewables.

Smart solutions should become an integral part of network development planning at all levels. Network operators should be encouraged—and possibly incentivised—to adopt such solutions when they offer more cost-effective alternatives to conventional grid investments. Regulators should ensure that the regulatory framework does not inadvertently favour physical infrastructure over smart solutions, and may even promote the adoption of grid-enhancing technologies through targeted incentives.

However, smarter networks are more exposed to cybersecurity threats. A Network Code on Cybersecurity for the EU electricity network (NCCS), adopted in 2023, sets a European standard for the protection of cross-border electricity flows. It includes rules on risk assessment, minimum requirements, certification of cybersecurity products and services, as well as crisis management procedures.

Workshop Structure:

This Policy Workshop will explore grid-enhancing technologies and smart network solutions available for EU transmission and distribution systems, along with the regulatory and cybersecurity frameworks needed to enable their effective implementation. The programme will include:

• Session I (morning): Focus on available technologies to enhance the performance of EU transmission and distribution networks, and how they can support integration of decentralised and flexible resources.

• Session II (morning): Exploration of regulatory tools that could incentivise the adoption of smarter network solutions.

• Session III (afternoon): Discussion on the main cybersecurity threats facing EU energy networks, and how the NCCS seeks to address them.

Sustainability Assessment:

The FSR evaluates the sustainability and carbon footprint of all events in its Regulatory Policy Workshop Series. This Workshop will be held in person to foster more effective dialogue. Participants travelling to Florence by car or air will be encouraged to offset the carbon emissions linked to their travel. This approach aims to strike a balance between the value of face-to-face engagement and the environmental impact of the event.

Please note that this event is by invitation only.