In this interview on the Open Access Government website, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, the European Commission’s Spokesperson for Climate, Energy, Environment, Transport, and Housing, discusses the European Commission’s strategic vision for Europe’s energy future.
The European Commission’s energy priorities
Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, the Spokesperson for Climate, Energy, Environment, Transport, and Housing, outlines the European Commission’s energy priorities for the upcoming months. The discussion covers how Europe can enhance energy efficiency and expand renewable energy generation. It also outlines the necessary steps for further developing a true Energy Union and examines how the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) supports financing cross-border energy infrastructure projects. Finally, the interview highlights the relationship between strengthening the European Union’s (EU) energy security and increasing the integration of renewable energy sources.
Q1: What are the Commission’s priorities in the months to come?
The Commission’s priority now is to turn the Middle East fossil energy crisis into “a wake-up call and a turning point” to “step towards clean energy autonomy,” as Commissioner Jørgensen put it. We have adopted AccelerateEU to respond to this crisis and to build resilience to avoid similar situations in the future. The initiative is a toolbox to bring immediate relief to European households and industries while putting the Union on a steady pathway to energy independence.
There is also momentum for swift political agreement on the European Grids Package, presented on 10th December 2025: President von der Leyen welcomed the fact that the European Parliament and the Council agreed to speed up negotiations, so as to make European infrastructure “fit for the electrification age.” Building up and upgrading our energy infrastructure faster and in a more rational way is a precondition for the EU to truly become energy independent.
Another priority is electrification. Electrifying our economy is the only lasting way for Europe to become energy-independent and move away from our dangerous dependence on fossil fuels. By the summer, the Commission will present the Electrification Action Plan, setting an ambitious electrification target, proposing measures to ensure electrification uptake, and tackling barriers in the industrial, transport and building sectors, as well as cross-sectoral barriers to the electrification of the economy.
Last but not the least, we remain fully committed to the phase-out of Russian energy imports and delivering on the REPowerEU objectives.
Q2: In what ways does Europe’s energy system increase efficiency and expand renewable generation?
The Commission is delivering on Europe’s energy system through three initiatives. The European Grids Package, presented on 10th December 2025, modernises the hardware: it accelerates permit-granting for transmission and distribution grids, storage facilities, charging stations and renewable energy projects; shifts grid connections from “first-come, first-served” to “first-ready, first-served” to clear backlogs; and launches the Energy Highways initiative to address “8 key bottlenecks across Europe.” The Package is currently with the co-legislators.
By the summer, the Commission will present the Electrification Action Plan. It will include an ambitious electrification target and measures to remove barriers to the electrification of the industrial, transport and building sectors.
Next to this, the Commission in June presented a Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in Energy. The aim is to accelerate the rollout of digital solutions (including European AI solutions) in important areas for the decarbonisation process, such as electricity grid optimisation, energy efficiency in buildings and industry and demand-side flexibility.
Q3: What steps must be taken to continue building a true Energy Union?
The next decade will be decisive in completing the Energy Union and in achieving climate-neutrality by 2050. As set in the 2025 State of the Energy Union report, several challenges still need to be addressed to build a true Energy Union. The EU needs to deliver large-scale electrification, with electricity in final energy increasing from the 23% target today to around 32% by 2034, and substantially upgrade investments in grids, step up efforts on energy efficiency, and boost innovation to build a competitive clean tech sector. In summer 2026, we will put forward actions on electrification, highlighting the benefits of electrifying the EU’s economy.
Delivering the clean energy transition will require investment on an unprecedented scale. The Commission estimates that the EU needs to mobilise €660 billion annually until 2030, rising to €695 billion per year in the following decade for energy-related investments. Despite significant progress, the pace and scale of investments must increase to ensure that Europe’s economy is powered by secure, affordable, and clean energy. To overcome such challenges, the Commission presented in March a Clean Energy Investment Strategy, to help bridge the gap between the private capital currently available and the investments needed.
The proposal for an ambitious EU Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028-2034 is also geared towards reinforcing cross-border infrastructure and channelling funding towards strategic clean energy technologies.
The upcoming revision of the EU’s Governance Regulation on the Energy Union and Climate Action as part of the post-2030 framework will be pivotal in this sense. Adopted in 2018, the Regulation guides the EU towards its 2030 energy and climate targets and the Paris Agreement commitments by creating a governance mechanism for Member States and supporting their strategic planning via National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs).
This revision, mentioned in the Commission’s political guidelines for 2024-2029, aims to better align the current energy and climate governance with the strategic policy objectives of affordability, competitiveness, decarbonisation, energy security, and strategic autonomy, looking beyond 2030.
Q4: How does the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) contribute to the financing of crossborder energy infrastructure projects?
The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF-Energy) is the EU’s principal funding instrument for cross-border energy infrastructure. It has provided €8 billion for flagship projects since 2014. It delivers on the TEN-E Regulation, introduced in 2013 and revised in 2022 to align the framework with the 2050 climate neutrality objective.
It also serves as a new instrument for cooperation with countries outside the EU, covering Projects of Mutual Interest (PMIs), which contribute to the EU’s energy and climate objectives as well as to partner countries’ sustainability objectives, and Projects of Common Interest (PCIs), which are key cross-border projects linking the energy systems of EU countries.
Obtaining PCI/PMI status is required for eligibility, but it does not guarantee EU funding under the CEF. PCIs and PMIs can apply for CEF funding by participating in annual calls for proposals, for instance, on 30th April 2026 the Commission opened a new €600 million CEF-Energy call.
Projects funded through CEF-E represent strategic energy infrastructure projects that will improve interconnectivity within Europe and with neighbouring countries. This is not only crucial to support the integration of cleaner energy in our system. It is also vital for achieving the Clean Industrial Deal’s objective of creating competitiveness conditions for energy-intensive industries and the clean tech sector to thrive in Europe.
Additionally, by promoting the cross-border expansion of renewables and strengthening market integration, these projects will also support our REPowerEU goals of phasing out Russian fossil fuels and enhancing energy independence. Efficient energy networks are also pivotal for ensuring that energy is affordable for both industries and households across the EU, as highlighted in the Affordable Energy Action Plan and in the European Grids Package.
Looking ahead, the Commission has proposed to scale up CEF-Energy substantially in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034) – from €5.8 billion to €29.91 billion – reflecting the central role of cross-border infrastructure in Europe’s energy independence. While CEF is the main funding instrument for cross-border energy infrastructure projects on the PCI and PMI list, projects may also receive funding under other EU programmes, such as EU cohesion funding, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and InvestEU.
More information on CEF-E is available online.
Q5: In what ways does strengthening the EU’s energy security relate to increasing the integration of renewable energy?
The two are inseparable. The current crisis highlighted how over-dependency on fossil fuels made the EU vulnerable to price volatility.
Presenting AccelerateEU on 22nd April 2026, Commissioner Jørgensen set out the scale: “Since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East our fossil fuel import bill has increased by over €24 billion. That’s more than €500 million per day.” His follow-up: “Now it is more obvious than ever – clean energy means security. It means affordability. It means independence.” Accelerate EU supports the EU’s goal of achieving energy independence through a decarbonised, resilient energy system based on homegrown clean energy and electrification.
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