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What is preventing greater collaboration across Europe's energy sector?
Europe has made a lot of progress on market integration and cross-border projects that show a strong willingness to collaborate successfully. Further progress depends more on structures than culture. For the most part, energy infrastructure – in grids and power generation – is planned nationally even though electricity increasingly needs to move across borders. In short, the transition is European and the challenge is thinking about planning and regulation at that level, rather than in purely national terms. For example, a transmission operator is typically remunerated by a national regulator against national criteria while the benefit lands elsewhere on the map.
Collaboration breaks down when costs are national but benefits cross borders. However, there are ways to change that. Cost allocation can follow where the benefits flow rather than national borders, which is why the European Grids Package pairs better cross-border cost-sharing with faster permitting.
As of mid-2026, the Commission reports grid connection queues in at least 16 member states. To change this, regulators should allow anticipatory network investment, building capacity ahead of confirmed connection requests, with the risk of under-utilisation allocated explicitly in advance rather than argued about afterwards. Network operators should also manage queues on readiness rather than application date, so that projects with land, consent and a credible route to construction are not stuck behind speculative positions.
It’s also important to progress from planning asset by asset to coordinated, cross-border system development – the European Grids Package is a great example of this. A focus on cross-border cost sharing and a reduction in permitting times are key parts of this.
Source: European Commission