Commissioner for Energy Dan Jørgensen, in a written answer on 9 July 2026, defended the EU's financial support for carbon capture, transport and storage (CCS) infrastructure, while urging Member States to fully leverage the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) to accelerate storage deployment. The answer responds to a parliamentary question from eight ECR MEPs led by Nicola Procaccini, who had warned that the exclusion of CCS projects from a recent EUR 650 million Connecting Europe Facility (CEF-E) call created uncertainty and risked deindustrialisation.
Jørgensen stressed that CEF-E has provided EUR 973 million in grants to CO2 projects since 2014, and that award decisions follow a transparent, competitive process. He noted that more than 20 CO2 storage projects are under development in the EU, including three with permits (Greensand in Denmark, Porthos in the Netherlands, and Prinos in Greece), and seven more applying for permits, which together could offer over 19 million tonnes per year of injection capacity. However, he acknowledged that demand for storage still exceeds supply, making it urgent for Member States to recognise all relevant projects as Net-Zero Strategic Projects under the NZIA, streamline permitting, and provide financial support from ETS revenues.
On future financing, Jørgensen pointed to the upcoming negotiations on the next multiannual financial framework, where strategic CO2 infrastructure could be supported through national regional and partnership plans and the proposed European Competitiveness Fund, which foresees support for net-zero strategic projects and value chains. He did not commit to increasing the CEF budget or to a specific timeline for a high-level political dialogue, but stated that the Commission is implementing and preparing measures to improve investment and deployment of industrial carbon management value chains, and will engage with Member States and stakeholders.
The answer signals the Commission's continued reliance on existing instruments and a push for national action, rather than new EU-level funding or a dedicated CCS roadmap. Stakeholders most impacted include hard-to-abate industrial sectors (steel, cement, chemicals) that depend on CCS to avoid deindustrialisation; CO2 transport and storage project developers seeking investment certainty; Member States, which are expected to prioritise and co-finance projects; and EU taxpayers, whose funds are channelled through CEF-E and future EU programmes. The answer provides no concrete new targets or deadlines, but reaffirms the Commission's commitment to the value-chain approach of the NZIA.