Response of the European Sea Ports Organisation to the TEN-E review proposal
04 March 2021
The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the proposal establishing the guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure. ESPO believes that the proposal provides a better legislative framework for European energy projects to achieve decarbonisation goals by designating infrastructure of importance for ports eligible for funding as Projects of Common Interest (PCIs). The move away from geographical corridors to an approach including all Member States also enables all relevant ports to fulfil their role as green energy hubs and key partners in the energy transition.
Nevertheless, ESPO believes that the proposal fails to address some key issues in European energy infrastructure. In particular, ESPO emphasises that the Commission should recognise the particular needs of the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy. Hydrogen production and usage will differ in key regards to natural gas: for the near future hydrogen production will be at relatively small scale and consumed locally. This has important implications for the need to recognise and support import infrastructure and cross-border relevance of hydrogen projects.
Please find below the full response.