Guidance

Connecting Europe Facility energy funding if there's no Brexit deal

Published 13 September 2018

This guidance was withdrawn on 31 January 2020

This page is out of date. It told you how to prepare for a no-deal Brexit.

For current information, read:
Getting EU funding
Connecting Europe Facility energy funding

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This guidance sets out how project promoters of Projects of Common Interest (PCI) that have been awarded grants from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) by the Commission / INEA or where project promoters have been informed before exit day that their application has been successful, would be affected if there’s a no-deal Brexit.

Actions

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is engaging with all relevant businesses, and no immediate actions are required.

The government guarantee means that, if there’s a no-deal Brexit, UK organisations benefiting from CEF energy grant awards will be able to continue their projects in the knowledge they are covered under the government underwrite guarantee if the Commission / INEA does not honour the award. The PCI streamlined permitting process will also continue for a limited period if the project promoter has already had its application accepted by the relevant UK planning authority.

Before the UK leaves the EU

The Trans-European Networks-Energy (TEN-E) Regulation sets out the criteria and process for an energy project to earn the status of PCI. PCIs are key infrastructure projects that are of EU benefit. This includes cross-border projects, that link the energy systems of Member States, as well as projects that cross the border of one or more Member States or an EEA country. PCI status means a project can benefit from a streamlined permitting process. PCI status is also the first step for a project to be eligible for a Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) energy grant under the linked CEF Regulation. CEF provides the possibility of part funding project studies and, exceptionally, construction costs. The full eligibility criteria for CEF grants are set out in the TEN-E Regulation.

The Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) has been appointed by the European Commission to manage the CEF fund on its behalf and to put in place the necessary grant agreements. CEF is funded from the EU budget to which the UK is a net contributor.

Grant agreements detail the specific tasks and timelines of the work to be carried out. An upfront award payment for a proportion of the grant award can be made but the remainder of the award is not paid out to the project promoter until all the tasks have been certified as complete.

If there’s no deal

In a ‘no deal’ scenario, the government underwrite guarantee for funding programmes extends to the CEF programme. This means that UK organisations, which are in receipt of a CEF energy grant award, or that have been informed before exit day that their application has been successful, are covered by the government guarantee if the Commission / INEA does not honour the award in full.

The CEF Regulation as it would apply in UK domestic law will be revoked and specific powers will be introduced to enable payment of awards in place of the CEF grants. Similar conditions and certification requirements will apply as with the INEA grant agreements. This will include CEF energy grant awards to UK organisations in respect of PCIs in the devolved administrations.

The linked TEN-E Regulation as it would apply in UK domestic law will also be revoked, with a saving provision in respect of the streamlined permitting process for PCIs in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This means that if a PCI project promoter has already had its planning application accepted by the relevant UK planning authority before exit day, then the project will still be able to benefit from the streamlined planning process.

Further information

For more information on the government’s underwrite guarantee, please see the technical notice on this area - HMT technical notice on the guarantee.