What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

8 unchanged paragraphs

on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directives (EU) 2018/2001, (EU) 2019/944, (EU) 2024/1788 as regards acceleration of permit-granting procedures

(COM(2025)1007 – C100341/2025 – 2025/0400(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2025)1007),

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 192(1) and Article 194(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C100341/2025),

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the reasoned opinions submitted, within the framework of Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, by the Czech Senate, the French Senate and the Swedish Parliament, asserting that the draft legislative act does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity,

Changed:– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of …,18 March 2026,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 5 March 2026,

– having regard to Rule 60 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety,

Changed:– having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A100000/2026),(A10-0195/2026),

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 1

Removed:Recital 3 a (new): (3a) Another significant barrier to grid expansion is the lack of sufficient financing. According to the Commission, EUR 1,2 trillion is needed for investments in electricity grids by 20401a to achieve a decarbonised economy. Therefore, Member States should facilitate access to financing sources, including the Union funding instruments, in particular the European Competitiveness Fund and the policy window for Energy Infrastructure, Industrial Decarbonisation and Clean Technology. Such instruments are planned to contribute covering, inter alia, investments in transmission and distribution networks with a view to enabling the integration of renewable energy. Furthermore, Member States are encouraged to prioritise and make effective use of innovative financial instruments, such as blended finance, guarantees and project development assistance, by combining Union support with financing from the European Investment Bank Group, national promotional banks and other public and private financial institutions, to support the development, reinforcement and integration of electricity grid infrastructure projects. Such instruments are essential to accelerate investment delivery, improve project bankability and substantially reduce investment risks for complex grid projects, thereby contributing to the large-scale integration of renewable energy and strengthening the resilience, security and affordability of the Union’s energy system. / 1a EUR 1,2 trillion by 2040 for electricity grids, in…

Added:AMENDMENTS BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT*

Removed:Recital 5: (5) Unsound public participation processes leading to opposition in the form of administrative and judicial challenges continue to contribute to lengthy implementation of relevant energy projects. Challenges give rise to additional steps outside of the foreseen administrative permit-granting procedures timelines, leading to unforeseen delays that vary in duration according to the judicial speed of the Member State in question. Lack of public acceptance is one of the primary barriers to renewable energy permit-granting procedures and thus market uptake. Ensuring public participation by local communities in renewable energy projects, can increase public acceptance. Therefore, Member States should adopt measures so that renewable energy projects with an installed capacity above 3 MW share their benefits with local citizens and communities by means of direct or indirect participation, without prejudice to the free choice of supplier in accordance with Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council7. Such measures should achieve the objective of the Citizens Energy Package of 90GW of community energy projects by 2030, including direct participation in renewable energy projects, through co-ownership models, to enhance local acceptance and deliver additional social and economic value. Such measures should deliver tangible economic benefits to the communities affected. They should prioritise discounts in the price of electricity, ensuring lower ele…

Added:to the Commission proposal

Removed:Recital 6: (6) Local resistance, often rooted in lack of transparency, and insufficient community involvement can result in delays in permit-granting procedures and subsequent litigation. Early-stage and appropriate involvement of the public is a clear success factor in renewable energy projects, as indicated in Commission Recommendation (EU) 2024/1343.8 To ensure transparency from the initial stages of the process, Member States should ensure that local communities have access to all necessary information on the project, their rights and benefit sharing measures. A professional independent facilitator can accelerate the deployment of large renewable energy installations above 3 MW by promoting consultations between the project developers and the local communities, where appropriate, prior and during the permit-granting procedures with the aim to promote dialogue and build consensus among the relevant parties, including on equitable benefit-sharing measures, during the entire process and avoid legal disputes. The facilitator should be a third party, independent from the relevant parties, and should not have any financial stake connected to the developer or to the community where the project is located. If a Member State already has procedures in place that are equally effective in ensuring participation and public acceptance of renewable energy projects, it should be able to retain and use those instead of appointing a facilitator.

Added:---------------------------------------------------------

Removed:Recital 7 a (new): (7a) The use of advanced digital tools, such as the use of digital twins and other dynamic digital models, can significantly support the acceleration of permit-granting procedures while ensuring high environmental protection standards. Digital twins include dynamic virtual representations of a physical asset or infrastructure that are continuously updated with real-world data throughout their lifecycle, enabling simulation, predictive maintenance, performance optimisation and impact assessment of proposed modifications. Digital twins of the European electricity grid could enhance the efficiency and smartness of the grid as a way to make networks, and the energy system as a whole, more intelligent. The development of a federated ecosystem of this solution on a European scale would allow each operator to make independent implementation decisions while ensuring interoperability. In general, advanced digital technologies can improve the efficiency, transparency and quality of environmental assessments by enabling data-driven comparisons between existing and proposed infrastructure configurations. In particular, digital models can facilitate the assessment of whether modifications such as repowering or grid upgrades remain within an existing footprint, thereby supporting more proportionate assessment procedures while preserving environmental safeguards and public scrutiny.

Added:Proposal for a

Removed:Recital 8: (8) Faster and shorter permitting deadlines for permit-granting procedures need to be accompanied by additional measures which ensure their effectiveness in practice. Administrative tacit approval measures ensure that an application is automatically approved if the public administration fails to act within a legally defined deadline and are therefore a useful tool to address administrative inaction by providing legal effect to the administration’s silence. Directive (EU) 2018/2001 introduces tacit approval for certain decisions, namely for intermediate steps of the permit-granting procedure in renewable acceleration areas, and for the final permits for all small-scale solar installations with a capacity below 100 kW. Directive (EU) 2018/2001 introduced Renewable Acceleration Areas to ensure faster and shorter permitting, however their implementation has been uneven across Member States. In particular, the absence or insufficient designation of such areas may result, in practice, in large parts of national territories being treated as de facto exclusion zones, thereby undermining the objective of ensuring the timely deployment of renewable energy projects. Therefore, it is important to also apply this measure in the permit-granting procedures applicable to projects located outside acceleration areas. In these procedures, Member States should ensure that the principle of administrative tacit approval is applied, including for final decisions with the exception of environmental …

Added:DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

Removed:Recital 8 a (new): (8a) To accelerate the deployment of electricity infrastructure, the Commission and Member States should aim to agree on a high level of standardisation of key grid equipment across the Union. Enhanced coordination and, where appropriate, joint technical assessment by the Commission, distribution system operators, transmission system operators and industry, should be encouraged to ensure consistency, interoperability and streamlined permitting.

Added:amending Directives (EU) 2018/2001, (EU) 2019/944, (EU) 2024/1788 as regards acceleration of permit-granting procedures

Removed:Recital 8 b (new): (8b) Member States are encouraged to apply European preference in public procurement processes for electricity grid equipment, software and services in order to reduce the Union’s dependence on third-country suppliers. The Commission should ensure a strategic approach to acquiring energy technologies, components or critical materials related to grids while promoting resilience, sustainability and security in public procurement procedures.

Added:(Text with EEA relevance)

Removed:Recital 9: (9) Repowering of existing renewable energy power plants has significant potential to contribute to the achievement of renewable energy targets. Since existing renewable energy power plants have, for the most part, been installed in sites with significant renewable energy source potential, repowering can ensure the continued use of those sites, thus ensuring efficient land use and exploitation of the best renewable energy resources. This is particularly the case for onshore wind, especially taking into account that in Europe many onshore wind farms are approaching the end of contracts supporting their electricity generation and that 26 GW of existing wind plants have been in operation for more than 20 years10 . Repowering includes further benefits such as an existing grid connection, a likely higher degree of public acceptance and knowledge of the likely environmental impacts. Considering that the repowering of wind plants often leads to a lower number of turbines being installed in the same site, the environmental impact of repowered wind plants is limited. Therefore, requirements on environmental screening or environmental impact assessment should be reduced or even waived where the repowering of an existing wind plant does not entail the use of significant additional land surface and the height of the wind installation is not significantly increased, while the repowering increases the total capacity of the installation and complies with the applicable environmental mitigat…

Added:THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Removed:Recital 13: (13) Accelerating the deployment of stand-alone energy storage is crucial to increase the flexibility of the energy system and to ensure system integration of renewable energy production. Stand-alone storage should therefore benefit from accelerated permit-granting procedures. Small-scale energy storage with a capacity below 100 kW is not likely to have significant adverse effects on the environment or the grid and is not expected to raise concerns related to competing uses of space. In view of this, it is appropriate to streamline the permit-granting procedures applicable to this type of storage by eliminating all administrative permits, with the exception of the grid connection permit, and exempting, with appropriate safeguards, these installations from the obligation to carry out an environmental impact assessment pursuant to Directive 2011/92/EU. The deployment of energy storage with a capacity above 100 kW also needs to be accelerated. Therefore, it is appropriate to streamline their permit-granting procedure by establishing a maximum overall deadline of six months, except for pumped hydropower storage, which must comply with stricter environmental requirements and therefore requires a longer maximum overall deadline. To ensure system integration of renewable energy production, it is necessary to increase flexibility sources, notably batteries of electric vehicles, as they can contribute to shifting peak electricity demand and reducing grid congestion. In order to achiev…

Added:Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 192(1) and Article 194(2) thereof,

Removed:Recital 14: (14) Obtaining grid connection permits is a crucial and often time-consuming part of the procedures to build and operate a renewable energy installation. It is therefore appropriate to further streamline the deadlines applicable for the grid connection procedures applicable to certain small-scale renewable energy projects, storage assets and recharging stations, and the repowering and hybridisation of renewable energy projects, and to introduce clear rules regarding the obligations of the system operators during the permit procedures. Within the applicable deadlines, system operators should grant connection requests where capacity allows or, where capacity is insufficient, propose alternative solutions such as flexible connections, alternative connection points, or adjusted timelines; refusal should remain a last resort where no viable option exists. Small-scale solar installations, storage and recharging stations should benefit from streamlined grid connection procedures in cases where a grid connection already exists, under appropriate conditions to ensure grid stability, reliability and safety.

Added:Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Removed:Recital 16: (16) Lack of resources in national authorities and the reduced digitalisation of permit-granting procedures results in delays in the permitting of electricity system infrastructure and generation assets. Member States should ensure that such authorities have adequate human financial and technical resources, including skills, and digital management tools and systems that enable them to render decisions within the deadlines provided in the Directive. To ensure the necessary financial resources, Member States should make use of relevant Union funding instruments.

Added:After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Removed:Recital 16 a (new): (16a) There is an urgent need to address labour shortages in the energy sector to support renewable deployment, grid expansion and related technologies. The persistent shortages of skilled electrical workers such as electrical mechanics and fitters in several Member States as well as increasing staffing pressures on transmission and distribution system operators calls for action. Therefore, Member States should provide indicative projections of workforce needs in the energy sector, including for skilled energy and network-related professions, and to outline measures to address those needs, which may include training, upskilling and reskilling. In order to ensure adequate skilled staff, the Member States should rely on the Commission’s support in ensuring training, upskilling and reskilling in grid-related skills.

Added:Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee

Removed:Recital 25: (25) Due the urgency in deploying energy infrastructure, the importance of streamlining authorisation procedures and the fact that environmental assessments represent the step with the longest duration in authorisation procedures, it matters to minimise such assessments without jeopardising the protection of the environment. The refurbishment, modernisation or repowering of existing transmission and distribution system infrastructure, and the construction of new distribution system infrastructure, are projects which generally entail minimal environmental impacts. Refurbishment, modernisation or repowering projects are routinely of limited size and affect only part of existing assets for which environmental impacts have been previously assessed. As a result, the impacts of such projects are often limited to those of construction works, with the operation of the asset having the same, or even a lesser, impact than the operation of the project it targeted. Distribution systems on the other hand, due to the smaller size of their projects, lower voltage of their assets and tendency to be developed in built areas closer to consumers tend not to have significant environmental impacts. As such, to accelerate the deployment of the electricity system infrastructure, enable the electrification of industry and digitalisation of the economy and achieve climate neutrality and renewable energy targets, Member States should be allowed to justifiably exempt, under certain conditions, the proj…

Added:Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

Removed:Recital 25 a (new): (25a) One of the environmental assessments contributing to long authorisation procedures when deploying energy infrastructure is the assessment mandated under Directive 2000/60/EC, despite the fact that grid infrastructure projects are usually unlikely to result in deterioration of a body of surface or groundwater. In order to significantly speed up the authorisation procedure without jeopardising the protection of the environment, transmission projects may be exempted from these assessments, provided that mitigation measures constitute an inherent component of the project.

Added:Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

Removed:Recital 27 a (new): (27a) The legally binding energy efficiency first principle is to be applied consistently to grid infrastructure planning to maximise the use of existing grid infrastructure in the most cost-effective way. Grid-enhancing technologies, hardware and software solutions that increase the capacity and efficiency of transmission infrastructure can deliver 20 to 40% additional capacity gains using existing infrastructure1a. / 1a Source: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2025/772854/EPRS_BRI(2025)772854_EN.pdf https://www.acer.europa.eu/monitoring/MMR/electricity_infrastructure_2024

Added:Whereas:

Removed:Recital 29: (29) Lack of resources in national authorities and the limited digitalisation of permitting procedures results in delays in the permitting of natural gas facilities, hydrogen production facilities, and hydrogen system infrastructure. Member States should ensure that such authorities have adequate human, financial and technical resources, including skills and digital management tools and systems that enable them to render decisions within the deadlines provided in the Directive. To ensure the necessary financial resources, Member States should make use of relevant Union funding instruments.

Added:(1) Slow and complicated permit-granting procedures, including grid connection procedures, is one of the main factors causing delays in the development of energy projects and electricity infrastructure. Electricity transmission grids take around 10 years for completion, of which permitting accounts for more than half of the time needed. Similarly, permitting of renewable energy projects can still take up to nine years depending on the Member State and the technology involved. Storage installations can take from one to seven years depending on the technology. The permit-granting procedures for construction or transformation of recharging stations and recharging pools along highways and in depots can take up to two years in some Member States. Slow permitting is due, among other things, to incoherent administrative systems among multiple authorities, inadequate staffing in authorities, the duration of environmental assessments, lack of public acceptance, limited digitalisation and data availability as well as administrative and judicial challenges.

Removed:Directive (EU) 2018/2001

Added:(2) In recent years, new measures have been introduced at Union level to accelerate the permit-granting procedures for renewable energy projects and, to some extent, infrastructure projects. In 2022, Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2577 was adopted to accelerate permit-granting procedures for renewable energy and related infrastructure projects. Its partial application was prolonged by Council Regulation (EU) 2024/223 until 30 June 2025. Furthermore, Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council amended Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and the Council to streamline administrative procedures for authorising renewable energy plants by introducing a comprehensive permitting framework, with shorter deadlines and simpler rules. The amended Directive included mapping obligations, the obligation to designate renewables acceleration areas where the environmental impacts stemming from projects are expected to be low and therefore faster and simpler rules can apply, and optional measures to introduce acceleration areas for infrastructure projects where infrastructure projects are exempted from an environmental impact assessment under certain conditions such as carrying out a strategic environmental assessment of the area.

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point 10f a (new): (10fa) ‘non-wire solutions’ means investments in the energy infrastructure in electricity, which can increase the available grid capacity or improve the efficiency of grid operation by deploying grid enhancing technologies, and any other resource or technology that reduce the need for grid expansion, including digital solutions;

Added:(3) A further improvement simplification and shortening of the administrative permit-granting procedures in a coordinated and harmonised manner is necessary in order to ensure that the Union reaches its ambitious climate and energy targets for 2030 and the objective of climate neutrality by 2050. Directive (EU) 2018/2001 did not address important issues which significantly delay permit-granting procedures and the integration of renewables into the system, such as slow permit-granting procedures for grids, stand-alone energy storage recharging stations or recharging pools, lack of public acceptance or insufficient digitalisation of procedures. Moreover, that Directive includes only certain of the measures of Regulation (EU) 2022/2577 but lacks several important measures included therein which have ceased to apply, such as expanding the priority of renewable energy projects beyond environmental aspects and streamlining compliance with certain environmental rules. Finally, some targeted amendments to existing measures of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 are necessary to ensure their full effectiveness and ensure cost-effective decarbonisation pathways and to avoid fragmentation of national approaches thereby strengthening investment certainty across the Union.

Removed:Directive (EU) 2018/2001

Added:(3a) Another significant barrier to grid expansion is the lack of sufficient financing. According to the Commission, EUR 1,2 trillion is needed for investments in electricity grids by 2040 to achieve a decarbonised economy. Therefore, Member States should facilitate access to financing sources, including the Union funding instruments. Furthermore, Member States are encouraged to prioritise and make effective use of innovative financial instruments, such as blended finance, guarantees and project development assistance, by combining Union support with financing from the European Investment Bank Group, national promotional banks and other public and private financial institutions, to support the development, reinforcement and integration of electricity grid infrastructure projects. Such instruments are essential to accelerate investment delivery, improve project bankability and substantially reduce investment risks for complex grid projects, thereby contributing to the large-scale integration of renewable energy, and strengthening the resilience, security and affordability of the Union’s energy system.

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point 10f b (new): (10fb) ‘share of the benefits of renewable projects’ means the equitable redistribution of economic benefits generated throughout all stages of the project lifecycle to local communities hosting or affected by renewable energy installations, including financial or ownership-based forms, such as participation through energy communities, as well as contributions to the local economy;

Added:(4) Article 15c of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 introduces an obligation for Member States to designate renewables acceleration areas for at least one renewable energy technology. For the purposes of such designation, Member States may exclude certain areas from becoming renewables acceleration areas due to their high environmental value and sensitivities. However, an assessment of the implementation of Articles 15b and 15c of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 demonstrates that a significant number of Member States have neither yet designated renewables acceleration areas nor fulfilled their obligations to map sufficiently large areas for the installation of renewables in their territories required to meet their national contributions towards the Union renewable energy target for 2030. In that regard, available spatial analyses indicate that only approximately 2% of the Union's total land area is required to accommodate the solar and wind installations needed to meet the Union's climate and energy objectives, and that suitable land identified on the basis of strict environmental and agricultural constraints, amounts to more than twice that figure, confirming that adequate areas for renewable energy deployment can be identified before any territorial restrictions are imposed. In order not to undermine the objectives of the designation of renewables acceleration areas, it should be ensured that Member States do not designate exclusion areas without introducing sufficient land surface for renewable acceleration areas and Member States must not identify large territories where the installation of renewable energy projects is a priori not possible due to environmental reasons including protection of landscape, since those projects will be subject to the relevant dedicated environmental assessments which will allow to identify potential environmental impacts and to address them. In order to ensure effective and uniform implementation, Member States should not designate large areas where the installation of renewable energy projects and their related infrastructure is legally or de facto restricted due to environmental reasons, and any existing restricted areas should be reviewed and potentially repealed or amended.

Removed:Directive (EU) 2018/2001

Added:(5) Unsound public participation processes leading to opposition in the form of administrative and judicial challenges continue to contribute to lengthy implementation of relevant energy projects. Challenges give rise to additional steps outside of the foreseen administrative permit-granting procedures timelines, leading to unforeseen delays that vary in duration according to the judicial speed of the Member State in question. Lack of public acceptance is one of the primary barriers to renewable energy permit-granting procedures and thus market uptake. Ensuring effective public participation by local communities in renewable energy projects, ▌can increase public acceptance. Therefore, Member States should adopt measures so that renewable energy projects with an installed capacity above 7 MW share their benefits with local citizens and communities by means of direct or indirect participation, without prejudice to the free choice of supplier in accordance with Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Economic benefits to the communities affected should be prioritised when deciding on measures, and these may include lowering electricity bills for households and businesses, financial compensation to local communities, or enabling shared ownership schemes of the energy generating assets, and the energy produced by those assets, such as through renewable energy communities, including via cooperation with energy communities. The latter is particularly relevant given the Citizens Energy Package’s objective of reaching 90 GW of community energy projects by 2030 and the fact that direct participation in renewable energy projects through co-ownership models has proven to enhance local acceptance and deliver additional social and economic value. Moreover, the logic of benefit sharing that is inherent in non-commercial renewable energy projects developed directly by citizens and renewable energy communities, which justifies exempting those projects from additional requirements. Particular attention should be paid to ensuring that communities most affected by renewable ▌energy projects, including vulnerable households, receive an adequate share of benefits through participation mechanisms. Member States or relevant regional authorities should ensure that project developers comply with established measures, including by providing any needed information. However, Member States should not be required to implement any new measures if it can be demonstrated that equally effective direct or indirect measures are already in place. Indirect benefits that would occur in the ordinary course of the development, construction or operation of a project, should not, in themselves, be deemed to constitute benefit-sharing.

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 15c – paragraph 6: 6. Member States shall not designate large areas where the installation of renewable energy plants and their related infrastructure is legally or de facto restricted due to environmental reasons, including protection of landscape, unless they can demonstrate that those types of plants and their related infrastructure would result in irreversible damage in the area which cannot be mitigated or compensated for during the environmental assessment pursuant to Directive 2011/92/EU and, where relevant, the appropriate assessment pursuant to Article 6(3) of Directive 92/43/EEC;