Just a couple of weeks left until Christmas – but Europe has already unwrapped an early present. Not the sort that jingles under the tree, but one that promises to power Europe with clean, reliable and competitive electricity.
After weeks of eager anticipation, on 10 December the European Commission’s Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera and Commissioner Dan Jørgensen unveiled the European Grids Package and the Energy Highways initiative. The goal? Drive down energy prices and secure a stable supply as Europe continues its shift away from Russian energy imports.
Eurelectric, which has been championing the #Grids4Speed cause in the past two years, had sent its wish list. Not a letter to Santa, but a set of practical recommendations calling for:
- A predictable, stable regulatory framework to attract investments.
- A simpler and faster permitting process with a maximum six-month approval.
- Dedicated EU funding for distribution network upgrades under the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
- Focus on resilience and cybersecurity costs to safeguard critical infrastructure.
- A practical, locally grounded grid planning, ensuring national plans feed into EU strategies without extra administrative burden.
Together, these ingredients would help deliver faster, smarter and more affordable grid deployment, essential to scale up the energy transition. As Commissioner Jorgensen put it: “if we want a Europe that is clean, competitive, and independent, we need our energy infrastructure to be stronger, more secure, and more connected”.
So, is the proposal up to the task? We unwrap it in this week’s #FridayFeature.
A new approach to energy infrastructure
The European Grids Package introduces major reforms across network planning, permitting, and grid connection frameworks, including:
- A revised TEN-E Regulation
- A permitting Directive
- A Guidance on Grid Connections to help clear connection queues
Let’s take a tour of the Package – no assembly required.
1. Strengthened EU-wide planning: amendments to the TEN-E Regulation
The revamped TEN-E aims to bring order to Europe’s long-term electricity planning by:
- Establishing a coordinated, transparent, EU-wide scenario aligned with electrification, renewables, resilience and security EU goals
- Strengthening the link between TYNDP and real cross-border infrastructure needs, including flexibility and non-wire solutions, and addressing the gaps by the PCI/PMI projects on the Union list
- Promoting renewables through priority offshore corridors
- Building on the existing one-stop-shop permitting framework for PCI/PMI projects and enhancing it with digitalisation and tacit approvals
- Enhancing the resilience, physical and cyber security of cross-border infrastructure, focusing on the delivery of the PCI/PMI projects.
- Facilitate better cross-border cost and benefit sharing and faster deployment of cross-border infrastructure projects, partially by requiring TSOs to use 25% of their congestion income for reducing cross-border congestion.
These changes signal a shift from fragmented national planning to a more integrated European mindset – a necessary step as electricity increasingly flows across borders.
2. Accelerated permitting for grids, storage and renewables
The Permitting Directive introduces amendments to the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) and the Electricity Market Directive (EMD) to speed up permitting procedures for grids, storage, renewable energy and recharging infrastructure projects. Key changes include:
RED III amendments:
- Introduces targeted changes to streamline permitting, including digital one-stop shops, simplified procedures for repowering, solar, storage and hybridisation, expanded use of tacit approval, and an OPI presumption for RES, storage, grids and recharging infrastructure.
- Adds new definitions relevant to permitting and RES projects and sets accelerated timelines for solar, storage, hybrid projects and recharging stations, with binding connection deadlines of 1-3 months depending on the technology.
- Requires Member States to adopt benefit-sharing mechanisms for RES projects above 10 MW and to appoint independent facilitators to support dialogue between developers and local communities. While an opportunity to foster social acceptance, this can significantly impact a project’s balance sheet.
EMD amendments:
Requiring TSOs to prepare a TYNDP every two years, explicitly considering anticipatory investments and prioritising non-fossil flexibility and non-wire solutions before grid expansion. Plans must align with NECPs, RED targets, EU climate legislation.
Introducing a maximum two-year deadline for authorisation procedures and defining grid infrastructure as overriding public interest, enabling exemptions from EIAs, Natura 2000 assessments, and species-protection assessments.
3. Cleaning up queue connections
The Commission’s Grid Connection Guidance acts as a toolbox for Member States, NRAs, Transmission System Operators (TSOs) and Distribution System Operators (DSOs) to address connection backlogs. It encourages:
- Anticipatory investments and strengthened TSO/DSO cooperation
- Development of forward-looking capacity maps and increased transparency
- Use of locational and time-of-use network tariff signals
- Alternatives to the first-come-first-served approach, including flexible connection agreements, first-ready-first-served procedures, milestone-based steps, and structured prioritisation
These measures aim to keep Europe’s grids responsive to demand and ready for large-scale renewable integration.
Energy Highways
Complementing this planning overhaul, the Commission is also proposing a new generation of strategic projects: the Energy Highways. From the Baltic Sea to Cyprus, and from Southeastern Europe to the Iberian Peninsula, these eight corridors target persistent bottlenecks that hold back system integration. Announced by President Ursula von der Leyen during the State of the Union speech in September, these 8 strategic corridors were selected based on their importance in completing the Energy Union. They will knit Europe’s electricity system together more efficiently, enabling clean power to move where it’s needed, when it’s needed.
Eurelectric’s reaction
Taken together, the European Grids Package and the Energy Highways send a clear signal: Europe must build faster, plan smarter, and invest at scale. The Commission has acknowledged the central role of grids in Europe’s energy transition – and that’s a big win.
What we like:
- Recognition of grids as central to Europe’s energy and industrial strategy
- Efforts to simplify and accelerate permitting
- Clearer EU-wide planning and stronger TSO–DSO cooperation
- A solid push to tackle connection queues
These are important steps – but the real test lies ahead: turning the legislation into concrete, timely action on the ground.
A space to watch: implementation
“We now need to turn ambition into implementation. The process must be steered carefully to ensure predictability and investor confidence across the wide electricity sector. We look forward to working with the European Parliament and the Council to shape a final package that delivers for consumers, strengthens Europe’s industrial competitiveness, and secures the success of the energy transition.” – Kristian Ruby, Secretary General, Eurelectric.
If grids aren’t upgraded, connection delays will grow, flexibility markets will struggle and electrification of homes, transport, and industry may stall. That’s why getting this Package right matters – and why Eurelectric is engaged at every step.
Next: grids must grow as fast as Europe’s ambitions
With the Commission’s proposals now published, the ball is now in the court of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, which will work on the proposal under the ordinary legislative procedure. Encouragingly, the Grids Package appears in the Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission as a priority file for 2026 – meaning it is likely to be fast-tracked.
The direction is clear: Europe must invest heavily in grids, tackle connection delays, and make infrastructure a core pillar of its industrial and climate strategy. Eurelectric will continue engaging with both institutions to shape a final package that delivers for consumers, boosts Europe’s competitiveness, and powers the energy transition forward.
This blog post was originally published as part of Eurelectric’s LinkedIn Friday Features. Subscribe here to stay updated and never miss an edition.
Disclaimer: This article is for communication purposes only and may not reflect Eurelectric positions. Any positions taken in this article shall not be attributable to Eurelectric’s official positioning. Official Eurelectric positions are reflected only in position papers published here.