EU energy ministers met in Luxembourg on 26 June 2026 to reach a general approach on the European grids package, a set of measures aimed at strengthening trans-European energy networks. The meeting of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council centred on the revision of the regulation on trans-European energy infrastructure (TEN-E) and a new permitting directive, both proposed by the European Commission in December 2025.
The package is intended to improve cross-border interconnection, support electrification and accelerate permitting for renewable energy projects, electricity grids and gas networks. It also seeks to make cross-border infrastructure more secure and resilient, and forms part of the Commission’s “One Europe, One Market” roadmap to lower energy prices and advance decarbonisation.
For the Baltic Sea region, where electricity and gas links run across the seabed, one provision stands out: the TEN-E Regulation would allow EU financial support for repairing damage to critical underwater energy infrastructure caused by deliberate sabotage. Finland pushed for the measure. “It is important that financial support from the EU can be made available for repairing damage to critical underwater energy infrastructure caused by deliberate sabotage,” said Finnish Minister of Climate and the Environment Sari Multala.
Multala said the compromise text reflected Finnish priorities, including technological neutrality and the principle that congestion revenues from cross-border connections should be reinvested where they arise. On permitting, Finland argued for flexibility so member states can adapt approval procedures to national conditions.
Ministers also discussed the EU’s post-2030 energy framework, tied to the 2040 target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 90% under the amended European Climate Law in force since April 2026, and took stock of the energy-market disruption linked to the crisis around the Strait of Hormuz.
