EU energy ministers in principle agreed on measures to speed up the permitting and deployment of renewable energy projects, but a final decision on the emergency regulation was held up by disagreements between member states on the introduction of a price cap for fossil gas.

Ministers at the EU Energy Council in Brussels Thursday agreed on the content of rules to temporarily grant all renewables projects the status of ‘overriding public interest’, and establish strict deadlines for the permit-granting process of solar power and heat pump installations, as well as repowering projects.