Aquind plans a 'dead duck' without French backing - council leader
The controversial electricity cable's been removed from a list of projects receiving EU support
Aquind has been denied having its proposed interconnector cable scheme on an EU-designated list of special energy projects.
A judgement within the EU Court of Justice General Court has dismissed Aquind’s challenge to keep the interconnector plan on a list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI).
PCIs are key cross-border infrastructure projects that link the energy system of EU countries. They are intended to help the EU achieve its energy policies in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
The advantages of PCI status include accelerated planning and permit granting, improved regulatory conditions, lower administrative costs and increased visibility to investors among others.
Aquind’s interconnector project was listed as a PCI in 2017 under a delegated regulation.
However, since PCI lists are to be redrawn every two years, it was replaced by another regulation in 2019 known as ‘the contested regulation’.
The new regulation listed the proposed interconnector as a project that is no longer considered a PCI, due to France’s refusal to include it on the list.
Aquind then brought an action before the general court against the European Commission seeking to annul the contested regulation.
The court dismissed the action on the basis that where a member state, such as France, decides to refuse the inclusion of a PCI in its own territory ‘that member state has a discretion in the matter which the European Commission cannot call into question’.
The court found that paragraph two of Article 172 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union presented ‘no difficulty in interpretation’ in requiring a member state’s approval.
A spokesman for Aquind Ltd said: ‘While we are disappointed, the case concerned a legacy issue interpreting EU regulations.
‘Since Brexit, the benefits of PCI are no longer applicable in the UK. The £1.3bn interconnector project will proceed pending the decision of the Secretary of State for Energy.’
Councillor Gerald Vernon Jackson, leader of Portsmouth City Council said it’s ‘interesting’ that the French government doesn’t want the interconnector on ‘a list of projects the EU supports’.
‘If it’s not going to happen in France then it’s a dead duck,’ he said,
‘What I’ve done is I’ve talked to people in Caen trying to get a meeting together of decision makers in France, to understand what their position is.
‘Caen is our twin city, the deputy mayor came to see me a couple of weeks ago, and it’s in Normandy which is where this is meant to take place.
‘There is a feeling, I’m trying to get confirmation, that the French are not keen on the Aquind project.’