Written by Saša Butorac.
Modernising the EU’s energy infrastructure is of paramount importance for increasing the EU’s competitiveness, ensuring the security of energy supply and achieving the EU’s energy and climate targets. The rapid roll-out of renewable energy sources across the EU needs to be accompanied by a timely upgrade of the electricity grids to enable their seamless integration into the EU’s energy system. Investment needs are estimated at over €1 trillion by 2040. There are also significant regulatory issues both at EU and national level that hamper the accelerated development of grids.
In particular, the European Commission has identified permitting procedures as one of the key causes of delays in the implementation of energy infrastructure projects. At the EU level, the governance of cross-border projects is subject to complex procedures, while the existing regulatory framework does not require a central cross-sectoral scenario for identifying infrastructure needs. To address these challenges, the Commission has put forward two legislative proposals – one on trans-European energy infrastructure (TEN-E) and the other on accelerating permitting-related procedures – as part of the European grids package published on 10 December 2025.
In parallel, as part of the package, the Commission has published two guidance documents – on the design of two-way ‘contracts for difference’ (2w-CfDs) and on efficient and timely grid connections – complementing the legislative proposals with non-legislative measures. These measures aim to facilitate the accelerated integration of clean energy sources into the EU’s energy system by fostering best practices for grid connection and the smart design of CfDs.
Read the complete briefing on ‘The European grids package: Guidance on contracts for difference and grid connections‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.
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