The Council adopted the regulation on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure following an agreement reached with the European Parliament. The regulation gives priority to twelve strategic trans-European energy corridors and areas. The European Commission welcomed Council adoption of the Energy Infrastructure Regulation because it foresees a new more transparent and accelerated permit granting procedure which generally will not exceed 3 years and 6 months.

The regulation on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure was adopted by the Council. The Council stressed that the new regulatory framework will help to modernise and expand Europe's energy infrastructure in order to allow the EU to meet its core energy policy objectives of competitiveness, sustainability and security of supply. In December 2012, the deal on energy infrastructure regulation reached by MEPs and the Council was endorsed by the Permanent Representatives Committee of the Council.

In particular, the regulation gives priority to twelve strategic trans-European energy corridors and areas. It also provides for the identification of projects of common interest necessary to implement them. Moreover, it lays down provisions for new, more transparent and accelerated permit-granting procedures which will generally not exceed 3 years and 6 months. The procedure will cut administrative costs for a given project throughout Europe by on average of 30% on the promoters' side.

The Council also underlined that the regulation provides rules for possible cross-border allocation of construction costs of infrastructure projects of common interest and determines the conditions for eligibility of these projects for Union financial assistance. The European Commission will adopt the first Union-wide list of projects of common interest on the basis of the regional lists by 30 September 2013. Subsequently, the Union list will be drawn up every two years.