Malta keeps its dream of an EU-funded hydrogen pipeline alive
EU member states agree to extend derogation that will keep project on Project of Common Interest list
Malta has again secured European Council backing to extend a derogation that keeps its hopes of securing EU funding for an LNG pipeline that could also carry hdrogen from the European mainland.
EU Energy Ministers agreed on Friday to back derogation extensions for Malta and Cyprus, two island-states that are physically isolated from the trans-European gas network.
The extended derogation will allow Malta’s plans to continue to be recognised as a Project of Common Interest (PCI) and therefore potentially eligible for EU funding.
Malta’s pipeline dream has remained stalled for over a decade, with the European Commission saying the country’s bid for EU funding to finance the project is unjustified.
The country had initially sought EU financing to develop a gas pipeline linking Malta to Sicily but adjusted that plan in 2020 to present it as a “hydrogen-ready” one. Despite the modification, Brussels said Malta’s application for funding was unjustified.
Despite the rejection, the government moved ahead with preparations for the pipeline, obtaining a planning permit for it in 2021. But the project never got off the ground and the government has continued to hope for EU funding to help bring the project to fruition. Ensuring that it is listed as a PCI is key to that.
A PCI is a legal status given by the EU to certain cross-border energy infrastructure projects that Brussels believes are important enough to merit fast-tracking and potentially funding through the EU’s Connecting Europe funding facility.
Melita TransGas, the state company responsible for the pipeline project, has been on the PCI list since 2013 and had its status reconfirmed in 2023, 2025 and again on Friday.
The Council’s position will now proceed to trialogue negotiations with the European Commission and the European Parliament.
Energy Minister Miriam Dalli said securing the renewed derogation and PCI status for the project was an important step and she thanked the team that had worked on that.
“This keeps open Malta’s future access to the EU hydrogen backbone and the developing hydrogen market,” she said.
If developed, the pipeline would pump LNG to Malta, allowing it to eventually phase out the offshore LNG tanker stationed at Delimara that fuels the Delimara power station.
But such pipeline projects have become increasingly unpopular at Commission and European Parliament levels due to concerns about them hampering the EU's push to transition economies to greener energy sources.
Malta's proposal is further complicated due to the fact that one of the shareholders in the Delimara power station consortium is facing criminal charges. The issue has been previously flagged within the European Parliament.
In a statement, Dalli’s ministry said EU delegations at Friday’s meeting had accepted that small island member states were physically isolated and that it was therefore in the EU’s interest to ensure they had a pipeline connection to the continent.
“The Council position also reflects the understanding that the implementation of such pipeline interconnections should not delay the decarbonisation of the economy or the deployment of clean energy sources and their related infrastructure,” the ministry said.
During the same Council meeting, EU delegations adopted a General Approach on a Directive aimed at speeding up renewable energy permitting timelines. Energy Ministers also exchanged views on how best to meet the EU’s post-2030 energy objectives and coordinated their response measures in view of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.