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 Text with EEA relevance - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 115/39

On 26 March 2010, the European Council agreed to the Commission’s proposal to launch a new strategy ‘Europe 2020’. One of the priorities of the Europe 2020 strategy is sustainable growth to be achieved by promoting a more resource-efficient, more sustainable and more competitive economy. That strategy put energy infrastructures at the forefront as part of the flagship initiative ‘Resource efficient Europe’, by underlining the need to urgently upgrade Europe’s networks, interconnecting them at the continental level, in particular to integrate renewable energy sources.

The target agreed in the conclusions of the March 2002 Barcelona European Council for Member States to have a level of electricity interconnections equivalent to at least to 10 % of their installed production capacity has not yet been achieved.

The communication from the Commission entitled ‘Energy infrastructure priorities for 2020 and beyond — A Blueprint for an integrated European energy network’, followed by the Council conclusions of 28 February 2011 and the European Parliament resolution (4), called for a new energy infrastructure policy to optimise network development at European level for the period up to 2020 and beyond, in order to allow the Union to meet its core energy policy objectives of competitiveness, sustainability and security of supply.

The European Council of 4 February 2011 underlined the need to modernise and expand Europe’s energy infrastructure and to interconnect networks across borders, in order to make solidarity between Member States operational, to provide for alternative supply or transit routes and sources of energy and to develop renewable energy sources in competition with traditional sources. It insisted that no Member State should remain isolated from the European gas and electricity networks after 2015 or see its energy security jeopardised by lack of the appropriate connections.

Decision No 1364/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) lays down guidelines for trans-European energy networks (TEN-E). Those guidelines have as objectives to support the completion of the Union internal energy market while encouraging the rational production, transportation, distribution and use of energy resources, to reduce the isolation of less-favoured and island regions, to secure and diversify the Union’s energy supplies, sources and routes, including through cooperation with third countries, and to contribute to sustainable development and protection of the environment.

Evaluation of the current TEN-E framework has clearly shown that this framework, while making a positive contribution to selected projects by giving them political visibility, lacks vision, focus, and flexibility to fill identified infrastructure gaps. The Union should therefore increase its efforts to meet future challenges in this field, and due attention should be paid to identifying potential future gaps in energy demand and supply.

Accelerating the refurbishment of existing energy infrastructure and the deployment of new energy infrastructure is vital to achieve the Union’s energy and climate policy objectives, consisting of completing the internal market in energy, guaranteeing security of supply, in particular for gas and oil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 % (30 % if the conditions are right), increasing the share of renewable energy in final energy consumption to 20 % (6) and achieving a 20 % increase in energy efficiency by 2020 whereby energy efficiency gains may contribute to reducing the need for construction of new infrastructures. At the same time, the Union has to prepare its infrastructure for further decarbonisation of its energy system in the longer term towards 2050. This Regulation should therefore also be able to accommodate possible future Union energy and climate policy objectives.

Despite the fact that Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity (7) and Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas (8) provide for an internal market in energy, the market remains fragmented due to insufficient interconnections between national energy networks and to the suboptimal utilisation of existing energy infrastructure. However, Union-wide integrated networks and deployment of smart grids are vital for ensuring a competitive and properly functioning integrated market, for achieving an optimal utilisation of energy infrastructure, for increased energy efficiency and integration of distributed renewable energy sources and for promoting growth, employment and sustainable development.

The Union’s energy infrastructure should be upgraded in order to prevent technical failure and to increase its resilience against such failure, natural or man-made disasters, adverse effects of climate change and threats to its security, in particular as regards European critical infrastructures as set out in Council Directive 2008/114/EC of 8 December 2008 on the identification and designation of European critical infrastructures and the assessment of the need to improve their protection (9).

Transporting oil through land pipelines rather than over water can make an important contribution to lowering the environmental risk associated with the transportation of oil.

The importance of smart grids in achieving the Union’s energy policy objectives has been acknowledged in the communication from the Commission of 12 April 2011 entitled ‘Smart grids: from innovation to deployment’.

Energy storage facilities and reception, storage and regasification or decompression facilities for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) have an increasingly important role to play in the European energy infrastructure. The expansion of such energy infrastructure facilities forms an important component of a well-functioning network infrastructure.

The communication from the Commission of 7 September 2011 entitled ‘The EU Energy Policy: Engaging with Partners beyond Our Borders’ underlined the need for the Union to include the promotion of energy infrastructure development in its external relations with a view to supporting socio-economic development beyond the Union borders. The Union should facilitate infrastructure projects linking the Union’s energy networks with third-country networks, in particular with neighbouring countries and with countries with which the Union has established specific energy cooperation.

To ensure voltage and frequency stability, particular attention should be focused on the stability of the European electricity network under the changing conditions caused by the growing inflow of energy from renewable resources that are variable in nature.

The investment needs up to 2020 in electricity and gas transmission infrastructures of European relevance have been estimated at about EUR 200 billion. The significant increase in investment volumes compared to past trends and the urgency of implementing the energy infrastructure priorities requires a new approach in the way energy infrastructures, and in particular those of a cross-border nature, are regulated and financed.

The Commission Staff Working Paper for the Council of 10 June 2011 entitled ‘Energy infrastructure investment needs and financing requirements’ stressed that approximately half of the total investments needed for the decade up to 2020 are at risk of not being delivered at all or not in time due to obstacles related to the granting of permits, regulatory issues and financing.

This Regulation lays down rules for the timely development and interoperability of trans-European energy networks in order to achieve the energy policy objectives of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) to ensure the functioning of the internal energy market and security of supply in the Union, to promote energy efficiency and energy saving and the development of new and renewable forms of energy, and to promote the interconnection of energy networks. By pursuing these objectives, this Regulation contributes to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and brings benefits to the entire Union in terms of competitiveness and economic, social and territorial cohesion.

It is essential for the development of trans-European networks and their effective interoperability to ensure operational coordination between electricity transmission system operators (TSOs). In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of the relevant provisions of Regulation (EC) No 714/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges in electricity (10) in this respect, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (11). The examination procedure should be used for the adoption of the guidelines on the implementation of operational coordination between electricity TSOs at Union level, given that those guidelines will apply generally to all TSOs.

The Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (the ‘Agency’) established by Regulation (EC) No 713/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (12) is allocated important additional tasks under this Regulation and should be given the right to levy fees for some of these additional tasks.

Following close consultations with all Member States and stakeholders, the Commission has identified 12 strategic trans-European energy infrastructure priorities, the implementation of which by 2020 is essential for the achievement of the Union’s energy and climate policy objectives. These priorities cover different geographic regions or thematic areas in the field of electricity transmission and storage, gas transmission, storage and liquefied or compressed natural gas infrastructure, smart grids, electricity highways, carbon dioxide transport and oil infrastructure.

Projects of common interest should comply with common, transparent and objective criteria in view of their contribution to the energy policy objectives. For electricity and gas, in order to be eligible for inclusion in the second and subsequent Union lists, projects should be part of the latest available 10-year network development plan. This plan should notably take account of the conclusions of the European Council of 4 February 2011 with regard to the need to integrate peripheral energy markets.

Regional groups should be established for the purpose of proposing and reviewing projects of common interest, leading to the establishment of regional lists of projects of common interest. In order to ensure broad consensus, these regional groups should ensure close cooperation between Member States, national regulatory authorities, project promoters and relevant stakeholders. The cooperation should rely as much as possible on existing regional cooperation structures of national regulatory authorities and TSOs and other structures established by the Member States and the Commission. In the context of this cooperation, national regulatory authorities should, when necessary, advise the regional groups, inter alia on the feasibility of the regulatory aspects of proposed projects and on the feasibility of the proposed timetable for regulatory approval.

In order to ensure that the Union list of projects of common interest (‘Union list’) is limited to projects which contribute the most to the implementation of the strategic energy infrastructure priority corridors and areas, the power to adopt and review the Union list should be delegated to the Commission in accordance with Article 290 of the TFEU, while respecting the right of the Member States to approve projects of common interest related to their territory. According to analysis carried out in the impact assessment accompanying the proposal that has led to this Regulation, the number of such projects is estimated at some 100 in the field of electricity and 50 in the field of gas. Taking into account this estimate, and the need to ensure the achievement of the objectives of this Regulation, the total number of projects of common interest should remain manageable, and therefore should not significantly exceed 220. The Commission, when preparing and drawing up delegated acts, should ensure the simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the European Parliament and to the Council.

A new Union list should be established every two years. Projects of common interest that are completed or that no longer fulfil the relevant criteria and requirements as set out in this Regulation should not appear on the next Union list. For that reason, existing projects of common interest that are to be included in the next Union list should be subject to the same selection process for the establishment of regional lists and for the establishment of the Union list as proposed projects; however, care should be taken to minimise the resulting administrative burden as much as possible, for example by using to the extent possible information submitted previously, and by taking account of the annual reports of the project promoters.

Projects of common interest should be implemented as quickly as possible and should be closely monitored and evaluated, while keeping the administrative burden for project promoters to a minimum. The Commission should nominate European coordinators for projects facing particular difficulties.

Permit granting processes should neither lead to administrative burdens which are disproportionate to the size or complexity of a project, nor create barriers to the development of the trans-European networks and market access. The conclusions of the Council of 19 February 2009 highlighted the need to identify and remove barriers to investment, including by means of streamlining of planning and consultation procedures. Those conclusions were reinforced by the conclusions of the European Council of 4 February 2011 which again underlined the importance of streamlining and improving permit granting processes while respecting national competences.

The planning and implementation of Union projects of common interest in the areas of energy, transport and telecommunication infrastructure should be coordinated to generate synergies whenever to do so makes sense from an overall economic, technical, environmental or spatial planning point of view and with due regard to the relevant safety aspects. Thus, when the various European networks are being planned, preference could be given to integrating transport, communication and energy networks in order to ensure that as little land as possible is taken up, whilst ensuring, where possible, that existing or disused routes are reused, in order to reduce to a minimum any negative social, economic, environmental and financial impact.

Projects of common interest should be given ‘priority status’ at national level to ensure rapid administrative treatment. Projects of common interest should be considered by competent authorities as being in the public interest. Authorisation should be given to projects which have an adverse impact on the environment, for reasons of overriding public interest, when all the conditions under Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (13) and Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (14) are met.

The establishment of a competent authority or authorities integrating or coordinating all permit granting processes (‘one-stop shop’) should reduce complexity, increase efficiency and transparency and help enhance cooperation among Member States. Upon their designation, the competent authorities should be operational as soon as possible.

Despite the existence of established standards for the participation of the public in environmental decision-making procedures, additional measures are needed to ensure the highest possible standards of transparency and public participation for all relevant issues in the permit granting process for projects of common interest.

The correct and coordinated implementation of Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (15), of Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment (16), where applicable, of the Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters, signed in Aarhus on 25 June 1998 (17) (the ‘Aarhus Convention’), and of the Espoo Convention on environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context (the ‘Espoo Convention’) should ensure the harmonisation of the main principles for the assessment of environmental effects, including in a cross-border context. Member States should coordinate their assessments for projects of common interest, and provide for joint assessments, where possible. Member States should be encouraged to exchange best practice and administrative capacity-building for permit granting processes.

It is important to streamline and improve permit granting processes, while respecting — to the extent possible with due regard to the principle of subsidiarity — national competences and procedures for the construction of new infrastructure. Given the urgency of developing energy infrastructures, the simplification of permit granting processes should be accompanied by a clear time-limit for the decision to be taken by the respective authorities regarding the construction of the project. That time limit should stimulate a more efficient definition and handling of procedures, and should under no circumstances compromise the high standards for the protection of the environment and public participation. With regard to the maximum time limits established by this Regulation, Member States could nevertheless strive to further shorten them if feasible. The competent authorities should ensure compliance with the time limits, and Member States should endeavour to ensure that appeals challenging the substantive or procedural legality of a comprehensive decision are handled in the most efficient way possible.

Where Member States consider it appropriate, they may include in the comprehensive decision decisions taken in the context of: negotiations with individual landowners to granting access to, ownership of, or a right to occupy property; spatial planning which determines the general land use of a defined region, includes other developments such as highways, railways, buildings and nature protection areas, and is not undertaken for the specific purpose of the planned project; granting of operational permits. In the context of the permit granting processes, a project of common interest could include related infrastructure to the extent that it is essential for the construction or functioning of the project.

This Regulation, in particular the provisions on permit granting, public participation and the implementation of projects of common interest, should apply without prejudice to international and Union law, including provisions to protect the environment and human health, and provisions adopted under the Common Fisheries and Maritime Policy.

The costs for the development, construction, operation and maintenance of projects of common interest should in general be fully borne by the users of the infrastructure. Projects of common interest should be eligible for cross-border cost allocation when an assessment of market demand or of the expected effects on the tariffs have indicated that costs cannot be expected to be recovered by the tariffs paid by the infrastructure users.

The basis for the discussion on the appropriate allocation of costs should be the analysis of the costs and benefits of an infrastructure project on the basis of a harmonised methodology for energy-system-wide analysis, in the framework of the 10-year network development plans prepared by the European Networks of Transmission System Operators under Regulation (EC) No 714/2009 and Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks (18), and reviewed by the Agency. That analysis could take into consideration indicators and corresponding reference values for the comparison of unit investment costs.

In an increasingly integrated internal energy market, clear and transparent rules for cost allocation across borders are necessary in order to accelerate investment in cross-border infrastructure. The European Council of 4 February 2011 recalled the importance of promoting a regulatory framework attractive to investment in networks, with tariffs set at levels consistent with financing needs and the appropriate cost allocation for cross-border investments, while enhancing competition and competitiveness and taking account of the impact on consumers. When deciding on cross-border cost allocation, national regulatory authorities should ensure that its impact on national tariffs does not represent a disproportionate burden for consumers. The national regulatory authorities should also avoid the risks of double support for projects by taking into account actual or estimated charges and revenues. Those charges and revenues should be taken into account only insofar as they are designed to cover the costs concerned and as much as possible related to the projects. When an investment request takes into account benefits beyond the borders of the Member States concerned, the national regulatory authorities should consult the TSOs concerned on the project-specific cost-benefit analysis.

The existing internal energy market law requires that tariffs for access to gas and electricity networks provide appropriate incentives for investment. When applying the internal energy market law, national regulatory authorities should ensure a stable and predictable regulatory framework with incentives for projects of common interest, including long-term incentives, that are commensurate with the level of specific risk of the project. This applies in particular to innovative transmission technologies for electricity allowing for large scale integration of renewable energy, of distributed energy resources or of demand response in interconnected networks, and to gas transmission infrastructure offering advanced capacity or additional flexibility to the market to allow for short-term trading or back-up supply in case of supply disruptions.

This Regulation applies only to the granting of permits for, public participation in, and the regulatory treatment of projects of common interest within the meaning set out herein. Member States may nevertheless apply, by virtue of their national law, the same or similar rules to other projects which do not have the status of projects of common interest within the scope of this Regulation. As regards the regulatory incentives, Member States may apply, by virtue of their national law, the same or similar rules to projects of common interest falling under the category of electricity storage.

Member States that currently do not provide for a legal status of the highest national significance possible that is attributable to energy infrastructure projects in the context of permit granting processes should consider introducing such a status, in particular by evaluating if this would lead to a quicker permit granting process.

The European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR), established by Regulation (EC) No 663/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (19) has demonstrated the added value of leveraging private funding through significant Union financial assistance to allow the implementation of projects of European significance. The European Council of 4 February 2011 recognised that some energy infrastructure projects may require limited public finance to leverage private funding. In the light of the economic and financial crisis and budgetary constraints, targeted support, through grants and financial instruments, should be developed under the next multiannual financial framework, which will attract new investors into the energy infrastructure priority corridors and areas, while keeping the budgetary contribution of the Union to a minimum. The relevant measures should draw on the experience gained during the pilot phase following the introduction of project bonds to finance infrastructure projects.

Projects of common interest in the fields of electricity, gas and carbon dioxide should be eligible to receive Union financial assistance for studies and, under certain conditions, for works as soon as such funding becomes available under the relevant Regulation on a Connecting Europe Facility in the form of grants or in the form of innovative financial instruments. This will ensure that tailor-made support can be provided to those projects of common interest which are not viable under the existing regulatory framework and market conditions. It is important to avoid any distortion of competition, in particular between projects contributing to the achievement of the same Union priority corridor. Such financial assistance should ensure the necessary synergies with the Structural Funds, which will finance smart energy distribution networks of local or regional importance. A three-step logic applies to investments in projects of common interest. First, the market should have the priority to invest. Second, if investments are not made by the market, regulatory solutions should be explored, if necessary the relevant regulatory framework should be adjusted, and the correct application of the relevant regulatory framework should be ensured. Third, where the first two steps are not sufficient to deliver the necessary investments in projects of common interest, Union financial assistance could be granted if the project of common interest fulfils the applicable eligibility criteria.

Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the development and interoperability of trans-European energy networks and connection to such networks, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

Regulations (EC) No 713/2009, (EC) No 714/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly.

Decision No 1364/2006/EC should therefore be repealed,

addresses the identification of projects of common interest necessary to implement priority corridors and areas falling under the energy infrastructure categories in electricity, gas, oil, and carbon dioxide set out in Annex II (‘energy infrastructure categories’);

facilitates the timely implementation of projects of common interest by streamlining, coordinating more closely, and accelerating permit granting processes and by enhancing public participation;

provides rules and guidance for the cross-border allocation of costs and risk-related incentives for projects of common interest;

determines the conditions for eligibility of projects of common interest for Union financial assistance.

‘energy infrastructure’ means any physical equipment or facility falling under the energy infrastructure categories which is located within the Union or linking the Union and one or more third countries;

‘comprehensive decision’ means the decision or set of decisions taken by a Member State authority or authorities not including courts or tribunals, that determines whether or not a project promoter is to be granted authorisation to build the energy infrastructure to realise a project without prejudice to any decision taken in the context of an administrative appeal procedure;

‘project’ means one or several lines, pipelines, facilities, equipments or installations falling under the energy infrastructure categories;

‘project of common interest’ means a project necessary to implement the energy infrastructure priority corridors and areas set out in Annex I and which is part of the Union list of projects of common interest referred to in Article 3;

‘energy infrastructure bottleneck’ means limitation of physical flows in an energy system due to insufficient transmission capacity, which includes inter alia the absence of infrastructure;

‘project promoter’ means one of the following:

‘smart grid’ means an electricity network that can integrate in a cost efficient manner the behaviour and actions of all users connected to it, including generators, consumers and those that both generate and consume, in order to ensure an economically efficient and sustainable power system with low losses and high levels of quality, security of supply and safety;

‘works’ means the purchase, supply and deployment of components, systems and services including software, the carrying out of development and construction and installation activities relating to a project, the acceptance of installations and the launching of a project;

‘studies’ means activities needed to prepare project implementation, such as preparatory, feasibility, evaluation, testing and validation studies, including software, and any other technical support measure including prior action to define and develop a project and decide on its financing, such as reconnaissance of the sites concerned and preparation of the financial package;

‘national regulatory authority’ means a national regulatory authority designated in accordance with Article 35(1) of Directive 2009/72/EC or Article 39(1) of Directive 2009/73/EC;

‘commissioning’ means the process of bringing a project into operation once it has been constructed.

each individual proposal for a project of common interest shall require the approval of the Member States, to whose territory the project relates; if a Member State decides not to give its approval, it shall present its substantiated reasons for doing so to the Group concerned;

it shall take into account advice from the Commission that is aimed at having a manageable total number of projects of common interest.

ensure that only those projects that fulfil the criteria referred to in Article 4 are included;

ensure cross-regional consistency, taking into account the opinion of the Agency as referred to in Annex III.2(12);

take into account any opinions of Member States as referred to in Annex III.2(9); and

aim for a manageable total number of projects of common interest on the Union list.

the project is necessary for at least one of the energy infrastructure priority corridors and areas;

the potential overall benefits of the project, assessed according to the respective specific criteria in paragraph 2, outweigh its costs, including in the longer term; and

the project meets any of the following criteria:

for electricity transmission and storage projects falling under the energy infrastructure categories set out in Annex II.1(a) to (d), the project is to contribute significantly to at least one of the following specific criteria:

for gas projects falling under the energy infrastructure categories set out in Annex II.2, the project is to contribute significantly to at least one of the following specific criteria:

for electricity smart grid projects falling under the energy infrastructure category set out in Annex II.1(e), the project is to contribute significantly to all of the following specific criteria:

for oil transport projects falling under the energy infrastructure categories set out in Annex II.3, the project is to contribute significantly to all of the following specific criteria:

for carbon dioxide transport projects falling under the energy infrastructure categories set out in Annex II.4, the project is contribute significantly to all of the following specific criteria:

the urgency of each proposed project in order to meet the Union energy policy targets of market integration, inter alia through lifting the isolation of at least one Member State and competition, sustainability and security of supply;

the number of Member States affected by each project, whilst ensuring equal opportunities for projects involving peripheral Member States;

the contribution of each project to territorial cohesion; and

complementarity with regard to other proposed projects.

feasibility and design studies;

approval by the national regulatory authority or by any other authority concerned;

construction and commissioning;

the permit granting schedule referred to in Article 10(4)(b).

the progress achieved in the development, construction and commissioning of the project, in particular with regard to permit granting and consultation procedures;

where relevant, delays compared to the implementation plan, the reasons for such delays and other difficulties encountered;

where relevant, a revised plan aiming at overcoming the delays.

in so far as measures referred to in Article 22(7)(a), (b) or (c) of Directives 2009/72/EC and 2009/73/EC are applicable according to respective national laws, national regulatory authorities shall ensure that the investment is carried out;

if the measures of national regulatory authorities according to point (a) are not applicable, the project promoter shall choose a third party to finance or construct all or part of the project. The project promoter shall do so before the delay compared to the date of commissioning in the implementation plan exceeds two years;

if a third party is not chosen according to point (b), the Member State or, when the Member State has so provided, the national regulatory authority may, within two months of the expiry of the period referred to in point (b), designate a third party to finance or construct the project which the project promoter shall accept;

if the delay compared to the date of commissioning in the implementation plan exceeds two years and two months, the Commission, subject to the agreement and with the full cooperation of the Member States concerned, may launch a call for proposals open to any third party capable of becoming a project promoter to build the project according to an agreed timeline;

when points (c) or (d) are applied, the system operator in whose area the investment is located shall provide the implementing operators or investors or third party with all the information needed to realise the investment, shall connect new assets to the transmission network and shall generally make its best efforts to facilitate the implementation of the investment and the secure, reliable and efficient operation and maintenance of the project of common interest.

promote the projects, for which he has been designated European coordinator and the cross-border dialogue between the project promoters and all concerned stakeholders;

assist all parties as necessary in consulting concerned stakeholders and obtaining necessary permits for the projects;

if appropriate, advise project promoters on the financing of the project;

ensure that appropriate support and strategic direction by the Member States concerned are provided for the preparation and implementation of the projects;

submit every year, and if appropriate, upon completion of their mandate, a report to the Commission on the progress of the projects and on any difficulties and obstacles which are likely to significantly delay the commissioning date of the projects. The Commission shall transmit the report to the European Parliament and the Groups concerned.

the competent authority notifies the Commission of that delegation and the information therein is published by either the competent authority or the project promoter on the website referred to in Article 9(7);

only one authority is responsible per project of common interest, is the sole point of contact for the project promoter in the process leading to the comprehensive decision for a given project of common interest, and coordinates the submission of all relevant documents and information.

The pre-application procedure, covering the period between the start of the permit granting process and the acceptance of the submitted application file by the competent authority, shall take place within an indicative period of two years.

This procedure shall include the preparation of any environmental reports to be prepared by the project promoters.

For the purpose of establishing the start of the permit granting process, the project promoters shall notify the project to the competent authority of the Member States concerned in written form, and shall include a reasonably detailed outline of the project. No later than three months following the receipt of the notification, the competent authority shall, including on behalf of other authorities concerned, acknowledge or, if it considers the project as not mature enough to enter the permit granting process, reject the notification in written form. In the event of a rejection, the competent authority shall justify its decision, including on behalf of other authorities concerned. The date of signature of the acknowledgement of the notification by the competent authority shall serve as the start of the permit granting process. Where two or more Member States are concerned, the date of the acceptance of the last notification by the competent authority concerned shall serve as the date of the start of the permit granting process.

The statutory permit granting procedure, covering the period from the date of acceptance of the submitted application file until the comprehensive decision is taken, shall not exceed one year and six months. Member States may set an earlier date for the time-limit, if considered appropriate.

upon the acknowledgement of the notification pursuant to paragraph 1(a), the competent authority shall identify, in close cooperation with the other authorities concerned, and where appropriate on the basis of a proposal by the project promoter, the scope of material and level of detail of information to be submitted by the project promoter, as part of the application file, to apply for the comprehensive decision. The checklist referred to in Annex VI.1(e) shall serve as a basis for this identification;

the competent authority shall draw up, in close cooperation with the project promoter and other authorities concerned and taking into account the results of the activities carried out under point (a), a detailed schedule for the permit granting process in line with the guidelines set out in Annex VI.(2);

For projects crossing the border between two or more Member States, the competent authorities of the Member States concerned shall prepare a joint schedule, in which they endeavour to align their timetables;

upon receipt of the draft application file, the competent authority shall, if necessary, and including on behalf of other authorities concerned, make further requests regarding missing information to be submitted by the project promoter, which may only address subjects identified under point (a). Within three months of the submission of the missing information, the competent authority shall accept for examination the application in written form. Requests for additional information may only be made if they are justified by new circumstances.

a project-specific cost-benefit analysis consistent with the methodology drawn up pursuant to Article 11 and taking into account benefits beyond the borders of the Member State concerned;

a business plan evaluating the financial viability of the project, including the chosen financing solution, and, for a project of common interest falling under the category referred to in Annex II.2, the results of market testing; and

if the project promoters agree, a substantiated proposal for a cross-border cost allocation.

congestion rents or other charges,

revenues stemming from the inter-transmission system operator compensation mechanism established under Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 714/2009.

an evaluation of the identified impacts, including concerning network tariffs, on each of the concerned Member States;

an evaluation of the business plan referred to in paragraph 3(b);

regional or Union-wide positive externalities, which the project would generate;

the result of the consultation of the project promoters concerned.

an exemption from Articles 32, 33, 34 and Article 41(6), (8) and (10) of Directive 2009/73/EC pursuant to Article 36 of Directive 2009/73/EC;

an exemption from Article 16(6) of Regulation (EC) No 714/2009 or an exemption from Article 32 and Article 37(6) and (10) of Directive 2009/72/EC pursuant to Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 714/2009;

an exemption under Article 22 of Directive 2003/55/EC (20); or

an exemption under Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1228/2003 (21).

an exemption from Articles 32, 33, 34 and Article 41(6), (8) and (10) of Directive 2009/73/EC pursuant to Article 36 of Directive 2009/73/EC;

an exemption from Article 16(6) of Regulation (EC) No 714/2009 or an exemption from Article 32 and Article 37(6) and (10) of Directive 2009/72/EC pursuant to Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 714/2009;

an exemption under Article 22 of Directive 2003/55/EC; or

an exemption under Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1228/2003.

the rules for anticipatory investment; or

the rules for recognition of efficiently incurred costs before commissioning of the project; or

the rules for providing additional return on the capital invested for the project; or

the any other measure deemed necessary and appropriate.

the incentives referred to in paragraph 1 on the basis of a benchmarking of best practice by national regulatory authorities;

a common methodology to evaluate the incurred higher risks of investments in electricity and gas infrastructure projects.

the project specific cost-benefit analysis pursuant to Article 12(3)(a) provides evidence concerning the existence of significant positive externalities, such as security of supply, solidarity or innovation;

the project has received a cross-border cost allocation decision pursuant to Article 12; or, for projects of common interest falling under the category set out in Annex II.1(c) and that therefore do not receive a cross-border cost allocation decision, the project shall aim to provide services across borders, bring technological innovation and ensure the safety of cross-border grid operation;

the project is commercially not viable according to the business plan and other assessments carried out, notably by possible investors or creditors or the national regulatory authority. The decision on incentives and its justification referred to in Article 13(2) shall be taken into account when assessing the project’s commercial viability.

the progress achieved for the planning, development, construction and commissioning of projects of common interest selected pursuant to Article 3, and, where relevant, delays in implementation and other difficulties encountered;

the funds engaged and disbursed by the Union for projects of common interest, compared to the total value of funded projects of common interest;

for the electricity and gas sectors, the evolution of the interconnection level between Member States, the corresponding evolution of energy prices, as well as the number of network system failure events, their causes and related economic cost;

permit granting and public participation, in particular:

regulatory treatment, in particular:

the effectiveness of this Regulation in contributing to the goals for market integration by 2014 and 2015, to the climate and energy targets for 2020, and, in the longer term, to the move toward a low-carbon economy by 2050.

general, updated information, including geographic information, for each project of common interest;

the implementation plan as set out in Article 5(1) for each project of common interest;

the main results of the cost-benefit analysis on the basis of the methodology drawn up pursuant Article 11 for the projects of common interest concerned, except for any commercially sensitive information;

the Union list;

the funds allocated and disbursed by the Union for each project of common interest.

Article 8 is amended as follows:

Article 11 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 11

Costs

The costs related to the activities of the ENTSO for Electricity referred to in Articles 4 to 12 of this Regulation, and in Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 shall be borne by the transmission system operators and shall be taken into account in the calculation of tariffs. Regulatory authorities shall approve those costs only if they are reasonable and appropriate.’;

in Article 18, the following paragraph is inserted:

‘4a.   The Commission may adopt guidelines on the implementation of operational coordination between transmission system operators at Union level. Those guidelines shall be consistent with and build upon the network codes referred to in Article 6 of this Regulation and build upon the adopted specifications and the Agency opinion referred to in Article 8(3)(a) of this Regulation. When adopting those guidelines, the Commission shall take into account differing regional and national operational requirements.

Those guidelines shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 23(3).’;

in Article 23 the following paragraph is inserted:

‘3.   Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (26) shall apply.

in Article 8(10), point (a) is replaced by the following:

Article 11 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 11

Costs

The costs related to the activities of the ENTSO for Gas referred to in Articles 4 to 12 of this Regulation, and in Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 shall be borne by the transmission system operators and shall be taken into account in the calculation of tariffs. Regulatory authorities shall approve those costs only if they are reasonable and appropriate.’.

Northern Seas offshore grid (‘NSOG’): integrated offshore electricity grid development and the related interconnectors in the North Sea, the Irish Sea, the English Channel, the Baltic Sea and neighbouring waters to transport electricity from renewable offshore energy sources to centres of consumption and storage and to increase cross-border electricity exchange.

Member States concerned: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom;

North-South electricity interconnections in Western Europe (‘NSI West Electricity’): interconnections between Member States of the region and with the Mediterranean area including the Iberian peninsula, notably to integrate electricity from renewable energy sources and reinforce internal grid infrastructures to foster market integration in the region.

Member States concerned: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Malta, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom;

North-South electricity interconnections in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe (‘NSI East Electricity’): interconnections and internal lines in North-South and East-West directions to complete the internal market and integrate generation from renewable energy sources.

Member States concerned: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia (1), Czech Republic, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia;

Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan in electricity (‘BEMIP Electricity’): interconnections between Member States in the Baltic region and reinforcing internal grid infrastructures accordingly, to end isolation of the Baltic States and to foster market integration inter alia by working towards the integration of renewable energy in the region.

Member States concerned: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden.

North-South gas interconnections in Western Europe (‘NSI West Gas’): gas infrastructure for North-South gas flows in Western Europe to further diversify routes of supply and for increasing short-term gas deliverability.

Member States concerned: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom;

North-South gas interconnections in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe (‘NSI East Gas’): gas infrastructure for regional connections between and in the Baltic Sea region, the Adriatic and Aegean Seas, the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, and for enhancing diversification and security of gas supply.

Member States concerned: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia (1), Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia;

Southern Gas Corridor (‘SGC’): infrastructure for the transmission of gas from the Caspian Basin, Central Asia, the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean Basin to the Union to enhance diversification of gas supply.

Member States concerned: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia (2), Czech Republic, Cyprus, France, Germany, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia;

Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan in gas (‘BEMIP Gas’): gas infrastructure to end the isolation of the three Baltic States and Finland and their dependency on a single supplier, to reinforce internal grid infrastructures accordingly, and to increase diversification and security of supplies in the Baltic Sea region.

Member States concerned: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden.

Oil supply connections in Central Eastern Europe (‘OSC’): interoperability of the oil pipeline network in Central Eastern Europe to increase security of supply and reduce environmental risks.

Member States concerned: Austria, Croatia (2), Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia.

Smart grids deployment: adoption of smart grid technologies across the Union to efficiently integrate the behaviour and actions of all users connected to the electricity network, in particular the generation of large amounts of electricity from renewable or distributed energy sources and demand response by consumers.

Member States concerned: all;

Electricity highways: first electricity highways by 2020, in view of building an electricity highways system across the Union that is capable of:

Member States concerned: all;

Cross-border carbon dioxide network: development of carbon dioxide transport infrastructure between Member States and with neighbouring third countries in view of the deployment of carbon dioxide capture and storage.

Member States concerned: all.

concerning electricity:

concerning gas:

concerning oil:

concerning carbon dioxide:

For electricity projects falling under the categories set out in Annex II.1, each Group shall be composed of representatives of the Member States, national regulatory authorities, TSOs, as well as the Commission, the Agency and the ENTSO for Electricity.

For gas projects falling under the categories set out in Annex II.2, each Group shall be composed of representatives of the Member States, national regulatory authorities, TSOs, as well as the Commission, the Agency and the ENTSO for Gas.

For oil and carbon dioxide transport projects falling under the categories referred to in Annex II.3 and 4, each Group shall be composed of the representatives of the Member States, project promoters concerned by each of the relevant priorities designated in Annex I and the Commission.

The decision-making bodies of the Groups may merge. All Groups or decision-making bodies shall meet together, when relevant, to discuss matters common to all Groups; such matters may include issues relevant to cross-regional consistency or the number of proposed projects included on the draft regional lists at risk of becoming unmanageable.

Each Group shall organise its work in line with regional cooperation efforts pursuant Article 6 of Directive 2009/72/EC, Article 7 of Directive 2009/73/EC, Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 714/2009, and Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 and other existing regional cooperation structures.

Each Group shall invite, as appropriate in view of implementing the relevant priority designated in Annex I, promoters of a project potentially eligible for selection as a project of common interest as well as representatives of national administrations, of regulatory authorities, and TSOs from EU candidate countries and potential candidates, the member countries of the European Economic Area and the European Free Trade Association, representatives from the Energy Community institutions and bodies, countries covered by the European Neighbourhood policy and countries, with which the Union has established specific energy cooperation. The decision to invite third country-representatives shall be based on consensus.

Each Group shall consult the organisations representing relevant stakeholders — and, if deemed appropriate, stakeholders directly — including producers, distribution system operators, suppliers, consumers, and organisations for environmental protection. The Group may organise hearings or consultations, where relevant for the accomplishments of its tasks.

The internal rules, an updated list of member organisations, regularly updated information on the progress of work, meeting agendas, as well as final conclusions and decisions of each Group shall be published by the Commission on the transparency platform referred to in Article 18.

The Commission, the Agency and the Groups shall strive for consistency between the different Groups. For this purpose, the Commission and the Agency shall ensure, when relevant, the exchange of information on all work representing an interregional interest between the Groups concerned.

The participation of national regulatory authorities and the Agency in the Groups shall not jeopardise the fulfilment of their objectives and duties under this Regulation or under Articles 36 and 37 of Directive 2009/72/EC and Articles 40 and 41 of Directive 2009/73/EC, or under Regulation (EC) No 713/2009.

Promoters of a project potentially eligible for selection as a project of common interest wanting to obtain the status of projects of common interest shall submit an application for selection as project of common interest to the Group that includes:

All recipients shall preserve the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information.

After adoption of the first Union list, for all subsequent Union lists adopted, proposed electricity transmission and storage projects falling under the categories set out in Annex II.1(a), (b) and (d) shall be part of the latest available 10-year network development plan for electricity, developed by the ENTSO for Electricity pursuant Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 714/2009.

After adoption of the first Union list, for all subsequent Union lists adopted, proposed gas infrastructure projects falling under the categories set out in Annex II.2 shall be part of the latest available 10-year network development plan for gas, developed by the ENTSO for Gas pursuant Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009.

The project proposals submitted for inclusion in the first Union list which were not previously evaluated pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 714/2009 shall be assessed at Union-wide system level by:

By 16 January 2014, the Commission shall issue Guidelines on criteria to be applied by the ENTSO for electricity and the ENTSO for gas when developing their respective 10-year network development plans referred to in points (3) and (4), in order to ensure equal treatment and transparency of the process.

Proposed carbon dioxide transport projects falling under the category set out in Annex II.4 shall be presented as part of a plan, developed by at least two Member States, for the development of cross-border carbon dioxide transport and storage infrastructure, to be presented by the Member States concerned or entities designated by those Member States to the Commission.

For proposed projects falling under the categories set out in Annex II.1 and 2, national regulatory authorities, and if necessary the Agency, shall, where possible in the context of regional cooperation (Article 6 of Directive 2009/72/EC, Article 7 of Directive 2009/73/EC), check the consistent application of the criteria/ cost-benefit analysis methodology and evaluate their cross-border relevance. They shall present their assessment to the Group.

For proposed oil and carbon dioxide transport projects falling under the categories set out in Annex II.3 and 4, the Commission shall evaluate the application of the criteria set out in Article 4. For proposed carbon dioxide projects falling under the category set out in Annex II.4, the Commission shall also take into account the potential for future extension to include additional Member States. The Commission shall present its assessment to the Group.

Each Member State to whose territory a proposed project does not relate, but on which the proposed project may have a potential net positive impact or a potential significant effect, such as on the environment or on the operation of the energy infrastructure on its territory, may present an opinion to the Group specifying its concerns.

The decision-making body of the Group shall examine, at the request of a Member State of the Group, the substantiated reasons presented by a Member State pursuant to Article 3(3) for not approving a project of common interest related to its territory.

The Group shall meet to examine and rank the proposed projects taking into account the assessment of the regulators, or the assessment of the Commission for oil and carbon dioxide transport projects.

The draft regional lists of proposed projects falling under the categories set out in Annex II.1 and 2 drawn up by the Groups, together with any opinions as specified in point (9), shall be submitted to the Agency six months before the adoption date of the Union list. The draft regional lists and the accompanying opinions shall be assessed by the Agency within three months of the date of receipt. The Agency shall provide an opinion on the draft regional lists, in particular on the consistent application of the criteria and the cost-benefit analysis across regions. The opinion of the Agency shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 15(1) of Regulation (EC) No 713/2009.

Within one month of the date of receipt of the Agency’s opinion, the decision-making body of each Group shall adopt its final regional list, respecting the provisions set out in Article 3(3), based on the Groups’ proposal and taking into account the opinion of the Agency and the assessment of the national regulatory authorities submitted in accordance with point (7), or the assessment of the Commission for oil and carbon dioxide transport projects proposed in accordance with point (8). The Groups shall submit the final regional lists to the Commission, together with any opinions as specified in point (9).

If, based on the regional lists received, and after having taken into account the Agency opinion, the total number of proposed projects of common interest on the Union list would exceed a manageable number, the Commission shall consider, after having consulted each Group concerned, not to include in the Union list projects that were ranked lowest by the Group concerned according to the ranking established pursuant to Article 4(4).

A project with significant cross-border impact is a project on the territory of a Member State, which fulfils the following conditions:

Concerning projects falling under the categories set out in Annex II.1(a) to (d), the criteria listed in Article 4 shall be evaluated as follows:

Concerning projects falling under the categories set out in Annex II.2, the criteria listed in Article 4 shall be evaluated as follows:

Concerning projects falling under the category set out in Annex II.1(e), each function listed in Article 4 shall be evaluated against the following criteria:

(a)   Level of sustainability: This criterion shall be measured by assessing the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and the environmental impact of electricity grid infrastructure.

(b)   Capacity of transmission and distribution grids to connect and bring electricity from and to users: This criterion shall be measured by estimating the installed capacity of distributed energy resources in distribution networks, the allowable maximum injection of electricity without congestion risks in transmission networks, and the energy not withdrawn from renewable sources due to congestion or security risks.

(c)   Network connectivity and access to all categories of network users: This criterion shall be measured by assessing the methods adopted to calculate charges and tariffs, as well as their structure, for generators, consumers and those that do both, and the operational flexibility provided for dynamic balancing of electricity in the network.

(d)   Security and quality of supply: This criterion shall be measured by assessing the ratio of reliably available generation capacity and peak demand, the share of electricity generated from renewable sources, the stability of the electricity system, the duration and frequency of interruptions per customer, including climate related disruptions, and the voltage quality performance.

(e)   Efficiency and service quality in electricity supply and grid operation: This criterion shall be measured by assessing the level of losses in transmission and in distribution networks, the ratio between minimum and maximum electricity demand within a defined time period, the demand side participation in electricity markets and in energy efficiency measures, the percentage utilisation (i.e. average loading) of electricity network components, the availability of network components (related to planned and unplanned maintenance) and its impact on network performances, and the actual availability of network capacity with respect to its standard value.

(f)   Contribution to cross-border electricity markets by load-flow control to alleviate loop-flows and increase interconnection capacities: This criterion shall be estimated by assessing the ratio between interconnection capacity of a Member State and its electricity demand, the exploitation of interconnection capacities, and the congestion rents across interconnections.

Concerning oil transport projects falling under the categories set out in Annex II.3, the criteria listed in Article 4 shall be evaluated as follows:

The methodology shall be based on a common input data set representing the Union’s electricity and gas systems in the years n+5, n+10, n+15, and n+20, where n is the year in which the analysis is performed. This data set shall comprise at least:

(a)   in electricity: scenarios for demand, generation capacities by fuel type (biomass, geothermal, hydro, gas, nuclear, oil, solid fuels, wind, solar photovoltaic, concentrated solar, other renewable technologies) and their geographical location, fuel prices (including biomass, coal, gas and oil), carbon dioxide prices, the composition of the transmission and, if relevant, the distribution network, and its evolution, taking into account all new significant generation (including capacity equipped for capturing carbon dioxide), storage and transmission projects for which a final investment decision has been taken and that are due to be commissioned by the end of year n+5;

(b)   in gas: scenarios for demand, imports, fuel prices (including coal, gas and oil), carbon dioxide prices, the composition of the transmission network and its evolution, taking into account all new projects for which a final investment decision has been taken and that are due to be commissioned by the end of year n+5.

The data set shall reflect Union and national law in force at the date of analysis. The data sets used for electricity and gas respectively shall be compatible, notably with regard to assumptions on prices and volumes in each market. The data set shall be elaborated after formally consulting Member States and the organisations representing all relevant stakeholders. The Commission and the Agency shall ensure access to the required commercial data from third parties when applicable.

The methodology shall give guidance for the development and use of network and market modelling necessary for the cost- benefit analysis.

The cost-benefit analysis shall be based on a harmonised evaluation of costs and benefits for the different categories of projects analysed and cover at least the period of time referred to in point (1).

The cost-benefit analysis shall at least take into account the following costs: capital expenditure, operational and maintenance expenditure over the technical lifecycle of the project and decommissioning and waste management costs, where relevant. The methodology shall give guidance on discount rates to be used for the calculations.

For electricity transmission and storage, the cost-benefit analysis shall at least take into account the impact and compensations resulting from the application of Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 714/2009, the impacts on the indicators defined in Annex IV, and the following impacts:

For gas, the cost-benefit analysis shall at least take into account the results of market testing the impacts on the indicators defined in Annex IV and the following impacts:

For smart grids, the cost-benefit analysis shall take into account the impacts on the indicators defined in Annex IV.

The detailed method used to take into account the indicators referred to in points 6 to 8 shall be elaborated after formally consulting Member States and the organisations representing all relevant stakeholders.

The methodology shall define the analysis to be carried out, based on the relevant input data set, by determining the impacts with and without each project. The area for the analysis of an individual project shall cover all Member States and third countries, on whose territory the project shall be built, all directly neighbouring Member States and all other Member States significantly impacted by the project.

The analysis shall identify the Member States on which the project has net positive impacts (beneficiaries) and those Member States on which the project has a net negative impact (cost bearers). Each cost-benefit analysis shall include sensitivity analyses concerning the input data set, the commissioning date of different projects in the same area of analysis and other relevant parameters.

Transmission, storage system and compressed and liquefied natural gas terminal operators and distribution system operators shall exchange the information necessary for the elaboration of the methodology, including the relevant network and market modelling. Any transmission or distribution system operator collecting information on behalf of other transmission or distribution system operators shall give back to the participating transmission and distribution system operators the results of the collection of data.

For the common electricity and gas market and network model set out in paragraph 8 of Article 11, the input data set referred to in point (1) shall cover the years n+10, n+20 and n+30 and the model shall allow for a full assessment of economic, social and environmental impacts, notably including external costs such as those related to greenhouse gas and conventional air pollutant emissions or security of supply.

The manual of procedures referred to in Article 9(1) shall at least specify:

The detailed schedule referred to in Article 10(4)(b) shall specify as a minimum the following:

To increase public participation in the permit granting process and ensure in advance information and dialogue with the public, the following principles shall be applied:

The concept for public participation shall at least include information about:

In the context of the public consultation to be carried out before submission of the application file, the relevant parties shall at least:

The project website shall make available as a minimum the following: