By eEuropa | Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Brussels, 22 September 2026

Europe has begun selecting the cross-border infrastructure projects that could receive strategic status under the next EU list of Projects of Common Interest and Projects of Mutual Interest. The process will help reveal where the Union sees its most pressing energy-system bottlenecks.

The European Commission opened applications on 14 September 2026 for electricity transmission and storage projects, smart electricity grids and smart gas grids seeking recognition as a Project of Common Interest (PCI) or a Project of Mutual Interest (PMI) under the Trans-European Networks for Energy framework. Applications for hydrogen, electrolyser and CO₂ infrastructure had already opened in June.

This is not simply another EU funding call. The selection process will produce the third Union list of PCIs and PMIs under the revised TEN-E Regulation. Projects included in that list receive a strategic regulatory status intended to accelerate cross-border infrastructure considered important for European energy integration, resilience and decarbonisation.

Three application deadlines are already running

Candidate projects will then be screened for eligibility and assessed against the criteria laid down in the TEN-E Regulation. For electricity and gas categories, projects must also form part of the latest available ten-year network development plan. The Commission’s regional groups will evaluate and rank eligible applications before the decision-making bodies of the Member States and the Commission establish the proposed regional lists.

Cross-border value is central to the framework. A PCI must make a significant contribution to a relevant energy-infrastructure corridor or thematic area and provide benefits that outweigh its costs. A project will generally need to have a significant impact on at least two EU countries, improve market integration or security of supply, and contribute to the Union’s energy and climate objectives.

PMIs extend part of the framework beyond the Union. They cover eligible infrastructure linking the EU with third countries and must demonstrate significant net socio-economic benefits at Union level, as well as a contribution to security of supply and decarbonisation in the EU and the relevant partner countries.

Selection is only the beginning

Filing an application does not confer PCI or PMI status. According to the Commission’s current timetable, candidate projects will pass through technical assessment, regional-group discussions and a public consultation from late 2026 into 2027. ACER is expected to issue its opinion during the June–November 2027 phase, alongside the decisions of the regional decision-making bodies.

The Commission plans to adopt and publish the delegated act containing the third Union list by November 2027. The European Parliament and the Council will then scrutinise the act. They may object to the list as a whole, but they cannot amend it project by project. If neither institution objects, the Commission expects the new list to enter into force in April 2028.

What PCI or PMI status can change

Strategic status can matter well beyond inclusion in an EU project register. Under TEN-E, PCIs and PMIs receive priority treatment and benefit from a streamlined permit-granting framework. Member States are required to organise the process so that it normally does not exceed three and a half years, subject to the conditions and possible extensions established by the Regulation.

The framework also provides regulatory assistance, rules for cross-border cost allocation and access to financing opportunities under the Connecting Europe Facility for Energy. These provisions can help address some of the regulatory and financial barriers faced by large cross-border projects.

That distinction is particularly important in September 2026. A separate CEF Energy call, with an indicative budget of €600 million and a deadline of 30 September 2026, is available for studies and works relating to projects included in the second Union PCI/PMI list. Projects applying now for inclusion in the third list have not thereby secured access to that funding.

The second Union list, adopted in April 2026, contains 235 cross-border energy-infrastructure projects. It covers electricity and offshore infrastructure, smart grids, hydrogen and electrolysers, CO₂ networks and other eligible categories under the revised TEN-E framework.

An infrastructure competition, not merely an infrastructure plan

The evolution of TEN-E reflects a wider transformation of Europe’s energy system. Expanding renewable generation is not sufficient if electricity grids, interconnectors, storage facilities and other cross-border infrastructure cannot transport, balance or integrate the energy produced. Hydrogen and CO₂ networks add a further industrial dimension to the selection process.

The third-list process can therefore be understood as a competition for regulatory priority. Candidate projects must demonstrate not only technical feasibility, but also relevance to identified European system needs, sufficient maturity and measurable cross-border benefits.

Inclusion in the Union list does not remove development risk. Projects remain subject to applicable environmental and permitting requirements, and PCI or PMI status does not guarantee either construction or financing. For promoters and investors, however, the designation can reduce significant regulatory and financial obstacles.

For Member States, regulators and system operators, the selection process poses a different question: which infrastructure bottlenecks deserve priority treatment? For energy-intensive industries, the consequences can extend further. Future electricity connections, hydrogen infrastructure, storage capacity and CO₂ networks may influence access to energy, industrial-location decisions and the practical cost of decarbonisation.

What happens next

The first immediate milestone is 30 September 2026, the deadline for hydrogen, electrolyser and CO₂ applications. Electricity applications close on 13 November, followed by the smart-grid categories on 4 December.

From late 2026 through 2027, attention will shift from project promoters’ submissions to technical assessment, regional deliberation, regulatory consultation and public scrutiny. That is when the third PCI/PMI list will begin to reveal something more important than the number of applications received: where EU institutions, Member States and regulators identify the infrastructure constraints requiring strategic attention.

eEuropa assessment

The central issue is the portfolio that emerges from the selection process. The third list should provide an early indication of where Europe’s most significant infrastructure bottlenecks are being identified as renewable generation expands and electricity grids, storage, hydrogen and CO₂ networks acquire greater strategic importance.

For organisations exposed to European energy infrastructure, the relevant decision cycle begins well before adoption of the delegated act: applications in autumn 2026; assessment, consultation and regional decisions during 2027; institutional scrutiny thereafter; and, under the Commission’s present timetable, a new PCI/PMI list entering into force in April 2028.

Primary sources

• European Commission, DG Energy — PCI and PMI selection process, application calls and timetable.
• European Commission, DG Energy — Trans-European Networks for Energy.
• Regulation (EU) 2022/869 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure.
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/764 — second Union list of PCIs and PMIs.