The radical modernization and expansion of the European Union’s energy networks lie at the heart of the Commission’s new initiative. Its aim is not only to reduce energy costs and accelerate the green transition, but also to shield the European market from the large electricity price discrepancies between member states and from the geopolitical risks that continue to pressure the continent.

With the new European Grid Package and the eight “Energy Corridors” presented yesterday, the Commission is attempting to reconnect the fragmented pieces of the European energy map and create a modern, unified, and resilient energy system.

The proposal takes on an immediate political dimension, as it will already be discussed next Monday, December 14, at the Energy Council, in the presence of Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou and Deputy Minister Nikos Tsafos. The Greek contribution is expected to be active, as Greece has played its own role in shaping the positions that led to the new European proposals.

At the center of the European strategy lies the need for free and cost-effective transmission of electricity within the EU.

Today, large amounts of cheap clean energy produced in certain regions cannot reach other countries due to insufficient interconnections and aging networks.

The Commission wants to overturn this reality with a new strategy that simplifies permitting, imposes fairer cost-sharing for cross-border projects, and introduces modern financial tools capable of attracting private capital.

Why Europe urgently needs new networks

The Commission’s initiative did not arise by chance. The EU continues to pay dearly for decades of underinvestment in its energy infrastructure, which leaves it vulnerable to crises and external geopolitical shocks.

In 2022, 70% of the EU’s available energy came from fossil fuels, while 98% of oil and natural gas was imported. At the same time, many member states remain far from the 2030 target of 15% interconnection capacity, hindering the functioning of a truly unified energy market.

These distortions have a direct impact on electricity prices. In 2024, European industry was paying €0.199/kWh—more than double the cost in the U.S. and China. In the first half of 2025, household prices ranged from €0.3835/kWh in Germany to €0.1040/kWh in Hungary, with equally large disparities for businesses.

To bridge the investment gap, the Commission proposes multiplying the CEF Energy budget nearly fivefold to €30 billion from today’s €5.8 billion, along with new tools to leverage private investment. For Brussels, strengthening the networks is a strategic choice affecting supply security, competitiveness, and the energy cost borne by European citizens.

Gaps in cross-border trade

In the “Grids Package” released yesterday, the Commission openly expresses its concern: if Europe does not move quickly, by 2030 nearly 45% of the necessary cross-border electricity capacity—about 41 GW—will remain unbuilt, while the “lost” green energy that cannot be fed into the system will reach 310 TWh by 2040, almost half of the EU’s electricity consumption in 2023. This is an energy and economic hemorrhage that Brussels emphasizes cannot continue.

The opposite scenario shows why European leadership is accelerating: strengthening interconnections could generate €40 billion in savings per year, while a 50% increase in cross-border electricity trade could boost the EU’s GDP by €18 billion annually by 2030.

However, the major concern is the staggering investment cost of the “Grids Package,” estimated at €1.2 trillion by 2040, of which €730 billion is for distribution networks and €240 billion for hydrogen infrastructure. And all this at a time when European energy bills have already strained households and businesses.

Financing tools

The big question, then, is how to fund the networks without once again inflating energy bills.

Until now, network investments have been covered by regulated revenues of system operators—that is, through consumer tariffs. But the Commission warns clearly that a project of this magnitude cannot be placed on the shoulders of households and businesses, as this would endanger not only social cohesion but also the acceptance of the green transition itself.

Thus, the Commission proposes a new financing architecture that combines various tools:
– new charging methods so costs are shared more fairly,
– mobilization of private capital through new financing schemes,
– enhanced use of public funds at strategic points in the network.

Key principle: local consumers should not bear a disproportionate burden, particularly for projects with a strong cross-border footprint that provide benefits to the entire EU.

Greek footprint in the Energy Highways

The new Energy Highways plan carries a strong Greek imprint, as three of the eight priority projects directly concern Greece. These include:
– the Balkan Pipeline, the backbone of the Vertical Gas Corridor,
– the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), the major Greece–Cyprus electricity link,
– and the reinforcement of electrical interconnections in Southeastern Europe, including the Hungary–Romania–Bulgaria–Greece axis, aimed at stabilizing prices and limiting extreme fluctuations.

Other projects include:
– Pyrenean Crossing 1 & 2 for improved Iberian connections with France,
– the Harmony Link to strengthen Baltic connections,
– Bornholm Energy Island to transform the Baltic into an offshore interconnection hub,
– the SoutH2 Corridor (Southern Hydrogen Corridor),
– and the Southwest Hydrogen Corridor from Portugal to Germany.

Reference to the GSI

For Greece, the Commission’s reference to the GSI is of particular significance. The text highlights that Cyprus is the only EU member state still isolated from the European electricity grid, which limits both its energy security and its ability to integrate renewables.

The GSI aims to close this gap, ending the island’s electrical isolation and supporting the gradual shift away from fossil fuels. It will also be the world’s longest subsea cable, approximately 900 kilometers long.

The Commission notes that the project has already received significant CEF support—€2.3 million for studies and €658 million for construction of the Greece–Cyprus segment—while the completion of the Crete link is a crucial step. It also recognizes that progress has been affected by a complex geopolitical environment, with impacts on timelines and costs, and thus pledges additional political and technical support, in cooperation with the Cypriot Council Presidency in 2026, to overcome obstacles and ensure the project’s completion.

The rapid implementation mechanism: Task Force

The Commission commits to speeding up the implementation of the “Energy Highways” through enhanced political coordination. It will activate the Regional High-Level Groups, the European coordinators, and the Energy Union Working Group, extending cooperation beyond member states where necessary. Each project will hold EU-wide priority status, with the Commission supporting member states to assign the same importance at national level.

The Mitsotakis letter

Last January, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, called for a renewed push in the internal electricity market and proposed a special working group to increase cross-border flows in markets with large price divergences. He stressed that the sharp price differences between member states are “politically unacceptable and economically wasteful” and contradict the core principle of free movement of goods. These positions were supported at the Energy Councils by Minister Stavros Papastavrou and Deputy Minister Nikos Tsafos.

The legislative proposals are progressing to the European Parliament and the Council, while the Commission continues to work with member states to implement the key cross-border energy projects included in the second PCI/PMI list.