BRUSSELS, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Member states of the European Union (EU) on Friday approved the European Commission's plan to invest 444 million euros (473 million U.S. dollars) in key European energy infrastructure projects.
The Commission's proposal approval means the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the EU's funding support program for infrastructure, will fund 18 electricity, Smart grids, and gas projects.
Of the 18 projects, seven projects in the electricity sector will receive 176 million euros, 10 projects in the gas sector will receive 228 million euros, and one project in the Smart grid is to receive 40 million euros, according to a statement from the Commission.
These projects will connect European energy networks, increase security of the energy supply and integrate renewable energy sources across the EU.
For the period of 2014 to 2020, 5.35 billion euros will be allocated to trans-European energy infrastructure under CEF, according to official data. In 2016, a total of 27 projects received 707 million euros.
Currently, there are 195 European energy infrastructure projects proposals which are eligible for CEF financial support. (1 euro=1.06 U.S. dollars)
